Egypt AH 1277(15) 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 ascension date and the text minted in Misr (Misr is Arabic for Egypt). The date is written as AH 1277 year 15, which translates to about 1874 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as extremely rare.
The coin shown was part of lot 13288 and sold on Sept 9, 2004 for $195 at the 2004 September (HWCA) Signature Sale #357 by Heritage Auctions. The catalog description reads: "Abdul Aziz 2 1/2 Piastres 1277AH Year 12 & 15,....Year 15, VG, surfaces corroded and scratched, but also a rare date. From the Lake Pearl Middle Eastern Collection."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.60 g, 25 mm diameter, 0 0.900 fine 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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