Egypt AH 1255(2) 20 qirsh
The coin shown is a silver twenty 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, with the denomination written below (abbreviated as the letter 'sh' for qirsh) with the number 20 above. A crude floral design sits right of the toughra. 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 2, which translates to about 1841 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as very rare.
The example shown was sold as lot 141 on Dec 13, 2011 at the Kunker Auction #199 in Osnabrück, Germany, for 600 euros. The catalog description reads:
"OSMANISCHE MÜNZEN Münzen nach der Münzreform von 1845 Silberprägungen der Münzstätte Misr (Kairo) 20 Kurush 1255 H., 2, vermutlich Misr (Kairo). Sehr schön (Ottoman coins of the reform of 1845, Cairo mint. Silver twenty qirsh of 1255, year 2. Very fine.)"
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.7-28.0g, 0.833 fine silver, 0.7498 ASW, this specimen 26,85 g.
Catalog reference: KM 232; Ölcer 31.402; Pere. RR.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Valentine, W.H., Modern Copper Coins of the Muhammadan States, London: Spink and Sons, 1911.
- [1]Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M. Fatih, and Kara, Tuncay. Ottoman Empire Coins, Istanbul: Mas Matbaacilik A.S., 2007.
Link to: