Egypt AH 1255(8) 1 para
The coin shown is a copper one para 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 Arabic letter P for para) with the number five. 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 8, which translates to about 1846 AD. Uslu[2] lists this issue as extremely rare. The specimen shown was lot 325 in Steve Album sale 16 (Santa Rosa, CA, May 2013), where it sold for US$1,298. The catalog description reads[1]: "EGYPT: Abdul Mejid, 1839-1861, AE para, AH1255 year 8, lovely strike, VF to EF, RRR."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, 15 mm, 1.31 g.
Catalog reference: KM-221.
- [1]Album, Stephen. Stephen Album Rare Coins - Auction 16. Santa Rosa, 2013. Stephen Album Rare Coins.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [2]Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M., and Kara, Tuncay. Ottoman Empire Coins 1687-1839 (AH 1099-1255). Istanbul: Anka Matbaacilik, 2010.
- Valentine, W.H., Modern Copper Coins of the Muhammadan States, London: Spink and Sons, 1911.
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