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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Pellinore, post: 4830614, member: 74834&quot;]But - what is dated? My oldest Christian coin that is dated is this one from Sicily, but it is dated according to the Islamic calendar to 533 AH = 1138/39 AD. </p><p>It was issued by King Roger II of Sicily (1130-1154), who strictly maintained an equilibrium between the Christian and the Islamic cultures. Sicily was slowly conquered from the Egyptian Fatimids by the Normans between 1060 and 1091. For a long time the islamic element was still strong. Under the relatively benevolent king Roger II, the island was a multi-ethnic community. (Two kings later Sicily was violently de-arabicised.)</p><p><br /></p><p>This AE follaro (14 mm, 1.05 gr.) has a standard Byzantine obverse with Christ and &quot;IC XC&quot;, &#039;Jesus Christ&#039; in Greek, but the reverse is all in Arabic. It mentions the name of &#039;Magnificent King Roger, the Powerful Through God&#039;. And the date. </p><p>This is one of the very first coins with a date in Arabic numerals, if not the first at all. Arabic coins started to be dated already in the 7th century AD: AH 77 (697 AD), the first gold dinar after the great coinage reform of caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. But the dates were always written out fully: &#039;three hundred and fifty and seven&#039;. The first Islamic coins with dates in numerals were only issued in 622 (AD 1225) by the Seljuqs of Rum.</p><p><br /></p><p>However, this coin (and only this one in Norman-Sicilian numismatic history) is dated 533 AH = 1138/9 AD in Arabic numerals. Spahr 62. Grierson p. 116 (photo 197).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1168309[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>And here is a dated Roman Provincial coin according to a local calendar: HΠΡ (188) = 140/141 AD. </p><p>AE26 Seleucis and Pieria. Laodicea ad Mare. Antoninus Pius AD 138-161. Obv. Laureate and draped bust right. Rev. Bust of Tyche as city goddess left, wearing headdress of gateway, turret, lighthouse and walls. ΦΟ to left, date HΠΡ (188) to right. 26 mm., 13.2g. <a href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/8580" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/8580" rel="nofollow">RPC IV.3, 8580</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1168308[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>This Parthian tetradrachm is dated to the month. It uses the Seleucid era, that started in 312 BC. I tried to find a coin that dated as close as possible to the year 0, and this one is from April, 1 BC. Isn&#039;t that hard to imagine! To make it even more difficult, according to modern estimates Jesus <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_of_birth_of_Jesus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_of_birth_of_Jesus" rel="nofollow">was born about 6 BC</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p>Phraataces (2 BC-4 AD). AR tetradrachm. Obv. Bust to the left, pointed beard, with the hereditary wart; Nike flying at left. Ear is visible. Rev. King enthroned to the right with bow; Date AIT (311), [A]PTEMISI[OV] (Artemisiou = April) = 1 BC. 26 mm, 10.13 gr. Sellwood 57.4.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1168313[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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