Egypt AH 1277(10) 2 1/2 qirsh
The coin shown is a 2½ qirsh, composition silver, from the reign of Sultan Abdul Aziz. 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 2 above, followed by a symbol denoting '1/2'. The reverse carries the accession date and the text minted in Misr (Misr is Arabic for Egypt). The date is written as AH 1277 year 10, which translates to about 1869 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as very rare.
The coin shown was lot 13286 and sold on Sept 9, 2004 for $161 at the 2004 September (HWCA) Signature Sale #357 by Heritage Auctions. The catalog description reads:
"Abdul Aziz 2 1/2 Piastres 1277AH Year 10, KM252a, very scarce Cairo type, and according to the SCWC, a subtype resulting from a change in the alloy standard from .833 to .900 silver (although I have never seen this change confirmed by specific gravity or other testing!) VF, cleaned and minor surface flaws. From the Lake Pearl Middle Eastern Collection."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.60 g, 25 mm diameter, 0.900 silver.
Catalog reference: KM 252a.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M. Fatih, and Kara, Tuncay. Ottoman Empire Coins. Istanbul: Mas Matbaacilik A.S., 2007.
- Valentine, W.H., Modern Copper Coins of the Muhammadan States, London: Spink and Sons, 1911.
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