I'd look for a number anywhere in that range:

=IF(COUNT(I3:I20,I23:I24)=0,"***",MIN(I3:I20:I23:I 24))



excel fool wrote:

I run a daily spreadsheet that shows the date inventory for multiple clients
if we have no inventory for that client the date is replaced with *** at the
bottom i have a formula =MIN(I3:I20,I23:I24) to choose the oldest date within
the cell range. but if there is no inventory and all the cells are *** this
formula spits out 01/01/1900 is there any way to make it show *** as a result
if there are no dates? i have been trying to figure this out for a while but
cant get it. i have tried multiple formulas using the IF command but cant get
it to work. any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank
you

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Dave Peterson