Egypt AH1327 (4)-H 5 qirsh
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The coin shown is a silver five qirsh from the reign of Sultan Mehmed V. The obverse bears the toughra, or signature, of the sultan, with the denomination written below. A flower design is to the right of the toughra. The mintmark H is at the base, the mintmark of the Heaton Mint. The reverse carries the year of mintage (year 4 of reign) followed by the script 'minted in Misr' (Egypt). The year of accession (1327) is written below, and all the foregoing is enclosed by a wreath. The date of the coin translates to 1911 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as common. The second specimen was lot 32949 in Heritage sale 3042 (Long Beach, September 2015), where it sold for $940. The catalog description[2] noted, "Muhammad V Specimen 5 Qirsh AH1327/4 (1912) SP65 NGC. A superior example of the type with fully reflective surfaces. Few extant in Specimen grade."
This denomination represents a member of a coinage reform started in 1884 AD. Previous to that date, coins with a value less than one qirsh were given in the unit 'para'. Though fractional qirshes were treated differently than previous years, qirshes and their multiples resembled pre-reform designs and compositions. The difference was the introduction of copper-nickel one qirshes in certain years. This suite of denominations was continued until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and subsequent loss of influence in Egypt, in 1914 AD.
Recorded mintage: 1,351,000.
Specification: 7 g, 0.833 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 308.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M. Fatih, and Kara, Tuncay, Ottoman Empire Coins, Istanbul: Mas Matbaacilik A.S., 2007.
- [2]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World Coin Auction 3042, featuring the Read and Bob Bennett Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2015.
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