Egypt AH 1293(29)-H 20 qirsh

From CoinVarieties
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Stack's Bowers 2023 NYINC sale, lot 41075
SB0123-41075r.jpg

This specimen was lot 41075 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $504. The catalog description[1] noted, "EGYPT. 20 Qirsh, AH 1293 Year 29-H (1903). Birmingham (Heaton) Mint. Abdul Hamid II. PCGS Genuine--Cleaned, Unc Details." The coin shown is a silver twenty qirsh from the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The obverse bears the toughra, or signature, of the sultan, with the denomination written below. A flower design is to the right of the toughra. The mintmark H is at the base, and stands for the Heaton mint in Great Britain. The reverse carries the year of mintage (year 29 of reign) followed by the script minted in Misr (Egypt). The year of accession (1293) is written below, and all the foregoing is enclosed by a wreath. The date of the coin translates to 1903 AD. Uslu lists this issue as common.

This denomination represents a member of a coinage reform started in 1884 AD. The coin pictured here is from the first year of that reform. Previous to that date, coins with a value less than one qirsh were given in the unit 'para'. Though fractional qirshes were treated differently than previous years, qirshes and their multiples resembled pre-reform designs and compositions. The difference was the introduction of copper-nickel qirshes in certain years. 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: 425,000 with mintmark "H" plus 50,000 struck in Berlin with mintmark "W".

Specification: 28 g, 0.833 fine silver.

Catalog reference: KM-296.

Source:

  • Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
  • Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M. Fatih, and Kara, Tuncay. Ottoman Empire Coins, Istanbul: Mas Matbaacilik A.S., 2007.
  • [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.

Link to:

Retrieved from "https://coinvarieties.com/index.php?title=Egypt_AH_1293(29)-H_20_qirsh&oldid=535891"