Egypt AH 1277(11) 500 qirsh
The coin shown is a gold one hundred qirsh from the reign of Sultan Abdul Aziz. 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 100 ("١٠٠") 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 1277 year 11, which translates to about 1870 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as extremely rare.
The example shown was sold as lot 266 on Dec 13, 2011 at the Kunker Auction #199 in Osnabrück, Germany, for 18,000 euros. The catalog description reads:
"OSMANISCHE MÜNZEN 'ABD AL-'AZÎZ KHAN (TÜRKEI-TÜRKISCH: ABDÜLAZIZ HAN)) 15. DHÛ I-HIJJA 1277 - 5. JUMÂDÂ II 1293 H. 25. JUNI 1861 - 30. MAI 1876, GESTORBEN 5. JUNI 1876 Goldprägungen der Münzstätte Misr (Kairo) 500 Kurush 1277 H., 11, Misr (Kairo). GOLD. Von größter Seltenheit, nur 200 Exemplare geprägt. Stempelglanz Exemplar der Sammlung König Farouk von Ägypten, Auktion Sotheby + Co., Kairo 1954 (Ottoman coins of Abdul Aziz, 1861-76, Cairo mint. Gold five hundred qirsh, AH 1277, year 11, extremely rare, only 200 examples struck, uncirculated. From the Farouk sale (Sotheby's, Cairo, 1954).)"
Recorded mintage: 200.
Specification: 42.72 g, 0.875 fine gold, 1.2018 oz. AGW, this specimen 42.66 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-78 (formerly Fr-10), KM 265; Ölcer 32.411.
- 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.
- [1]Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M. Fatih, and Kara, Tuncay. Ottoman Empire Coins, Istanbul: Mas Matbaacilik A.S., 2007.
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