Egypt AH 1293(21) 5/10 qirsh
The coin shown is a 5/10 qirsh from the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The obverse bears the toughra, or signature, of the sultan, with the year of issue written below (as in year during the reign of the sultan, in this case year 21). A flower design is to the right of the toughra. The reverse carries peripheral text including the phrase 'minted in Misr'. The large arabic 5 in the center symbolizes the fraction over 10 (5/10, or 1/2). Below this is the ascension year of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, AH 1293. The date of the coin translates to 1895 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as scarce. The second specimen was lot 505 in Stephen Album sale 32 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2018), where it sold for $470. The catalog description[2] noted, "EGYPT: Abdul Hamid II, 1876-1909, 5/10 qirsh, Misr, AH1293 year 21, broadstruck error coin, PCGS graded MS63. Both broadstruck and off-center coins are struck outside of a retaining collar. The difference between a broadstruck coin and an off-center coin is how much of the original design remains after striking. If all of the design, including the rim and denticles, remain on the coin, then it is considered broadstruck. If some of the elements are missing, then the coin is referred to as an off-center strike."
This denomination represents a member of a coinage reform started in 1884 AD. Previous to that date, coins with a value less than one qirsh were given in the unit 'para'. All fractional qirshes after 1884 were given values directly proportional to one qirsh, e.g. 1/40 qirsh, 1/20 qirsh, 1/10 qirsh, 2/10 qirsh, etc. This suite of denominations was continued until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and subsequent loss of influence in Egypt, in 1914 AD.
Recorded mintage: 3,404,000.
Specification: 3.71 g, copper-nickel, 21 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 291.
- 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]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 32, featuring the Don Erickson Collection of German Coins, Part II and the Hazerfans Collection of Ottoman Empire Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2018.
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