OK...I've asked Google and have mostly managed to confuse myself. I would like to know what is the oldest coin to have a date in what we call "Arabic Numerals" (1,2,etc). What I have mainly seen is a reference to a Danish coin dated 1234, although no amount of staring on my part can cause me to see the date. I recently ran into a posting that said the date was MCCXXXIIII I can kind of see that date on the coin. Now with that as a preamble... What is the oldest coin that bears a date written in the numbers we use today in the Western world?
1424 St Gallen Plappart on the reverse 1424 in the upper left (the 4's in medieval style) this one sold for 12'000 CHF + fees in 2012 https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1290730
Here's a good site with a breakdown of dated coins - as arnoldoe says, 1424 is the first western use of Arabic numerals. They are all Roman before. http://www.medievalcoinage.com/earlydated/early-to-1394.htm
Of course this opens us up to the coins that have a privy mark and a particular ruler that would allow dating.
Did not see it. It only goes back to the 12th century but clearly states that there are earlier Islamic coins with dates. Also, how about some ancient coins with a date in the current Japanese form?
Some Ancient Greek coins have regal dates, or dates based off the founding of the city. I suspect those may be the earliest 'dated' Coins
Here is my third oldest dated coin... Abbasid Caliphate (First Period) dated AH 162=784AD Caliph al-Mahdi 4.28g./ 21mm. .999 gold
And that is what my response was referring to. As to specifics, I have no idea. The post made by panzerman shows us one from 784 AD, and unless I am mistaken the Islamic calendar didn't even begin until - 622AD ? If you know of some by all means show us or tell us about them. All of that said, for most of us, unless the date is written in Arabic numerals or Roman numerals, none of us are even going to be aware there is a date on the coin.
@arnoldoe, thanks for getting us on the right track. Curious: who is the bearded king/bishop/beserker on your avatar coin? Steve