Egypt AH 1277(4) 100 qirsh
The coin shown is a gold 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. Below the toughra is the denomination (qirsh), abbreviated as 'sh', with the number 100 ("١٠٠") above. 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 4, which translates to about 1863 AD. Uslu[2] lists this issue as extremely rare. It is a single year issue (without a flower to the right of the toughra).
The first specimen was lot 13095 in Heritage Auction Galleries sale 397 (New York, January 2006), where it sold for $632.50. The catalog description noted, "Abdul Aziz gold 100 Piastres 1277AH Year 4 (1864), XF, lightly cleaned, rare Paris striking without the flower ornament to the right of the tughra. This one-year type was once considered to be a pattern, but is now recognized as a regular issue." The second specimen was lot 24682 in Heritage sale 3015 (Long Beach, September 2011), where it did not sell. The catalog description[3] noted, "Abdul Aziz gold 100 Kurush AH1277 Year 4 (1864), AU58 NGC, lustrous surfaces with noticeable contact marks, very scarce one-year type struck at Paris without the flower to the right of the tughra."
Recorded mintage: 20,000[1].
Specification: 8.54 g, 0.875 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 264, Fr-82 (formerly Fr-11a).
- 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.
- [1]Bruce, Colin R., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 5th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2006.
- [2]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.
- [3]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3015, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2011.
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