Egypt AH 1255(1) 50 qirsh
The coin shown is a gold fifty qirsh from the reign of Sultan Abdul Mejid. It was struck at the Cairo Mint. The obverse bears the toughra, or signature, of the sultan. Below the toughra is the denomination (qirsh), abbreviated as 'sh', with the number 50 above. The reverse carries the accession date and the text minted in Misr (Misr is Arabic for Egypt). The date is written as AH 1255 year 1, which translates to about 1839 AD.
The coin pictured was lot 13266 in 2004 September (HWCA) Signature Sale #357, where it sold for $299. The catalog description noted, "Abdul Mejid gold 50 Piastres 1255AH Year 1, very scarce date. Nice AVF, evenly worn and still quite attractive. From the Lake Pearl Middle Eastern Collection."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 4.272 g, 0.875 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 234.1, Fr-74 (formerly Fr-6).
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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