Egypt AH 1277(2) 20 qirsh
The coin shown is a silver twenty 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. Below the toughra is the denomination (qirsh), abbreviated as 'sh', with the number 20 above. 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 2, which translates to about 1861 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as extremely rare.
The coin pictured was lot 20779 in Heritage Auction Galleries sale 3004 (New York, January 2009), where it sold for $3,220. The catalog description[2] noted, "Abdul Aziz 20 Piastres/Qirsh AH1277 Year 2 (1862), AU55 NGC, very lightly toned with considerable original mint luster. The surfaces display some light haymarking (tiny flan flaws), typical for this era. Rare type and date. From the Grundy Collection."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 28 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 27.99 grams.
Catalog reference: KM 260, Davenport 16.
- 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.
- [2]Tucker, Warren, and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3004: World Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2009.
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