Egypt AH 1277(15) 5 qirsh
The coin shown is a silver five 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 5 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 15, which translates to about 1874 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as extremely rare.
The example shown was lot 316 on Dec 13, 2011 at the Kunker Auction #199 in Osnabruck, Germany, where it sold for 800 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 Silberprägungen der Münzstätte Misr (Kairo) 5 Kurush 1277 H., 15, Misr (Kairo). Mit Blume neben der Tughra. kennt dieses Jahr nicht; Pere 937. Jahrgang von größter Seltenheit. Sehr schön (Ottoman coins of Abdul Aziz, 1861-76, Cairo mint. Silver five qirsh, AH 1277, year 15, with bloom near the toughra. Date unlisted in Ölcer, very rare, very fine.)"
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.20 g, 0.833 fine silver, 0.1661 ASW, this specimen 6,97 g.
Catalog reference: KM 254a; Ölcer 32.533, Pere 937.
- 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.
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