Egypt AH 1255(2) 100 qirsh
The coin shown is a gold hundred 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 100 ("١٠٠") above. The reverse carries the ascension date and the text minted in Misr (Misr is Arabic for Egypt). The date is written as AH 1255 year 2, which translates to about 1840 AD.
The coin pictured was lot 13269 in 2004 September (HWCA) Signature Sale 357, where it sold for $345. The catalog description noted, "Abdul Mejid gold 100 Piastres 1255AH year 2, choice XF-AU, lustrous and very appealing. Interestingly, this date of the Egyptian pound was the model for the gold coin of the Mahdi in Sudan, issued about 1885. From the Lake Pearl Middle Eastern Collection."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 8.544 g, 0.875 fine gold.
Catalog reference: Fr-73 (formerly Fr-5), KM 235.1.
- 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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