Egypt AH 1293(4) 10 qirsh
The coin shown is a gold ten qirsh from the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. 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 10 above. A crude floral design sits right of the toughra. The reverse carries the ascension date and the text minted in Misr (Misr is Arabic for Egypt). The date is written as AH 1293 year 4, which translates to about 1879 AD. Uslu[1] lists this issue as extremely rare.
The example shown was sold as lot 602 on Dec 13, 2011 at the Kunker Auction #199 in Osnabruck, Germany, for 1100 euros. The catalog description reads:
"OSMANISCHE MÜNZEN 'ABD AL-HAMÎD KHAN II. (TÜRKEI-TÜRKISCH: ABDÜLHAMIT HAN) 10. SHA’BÂN 1293 - 6. RABÎ II 1327 H. 31. AUGUST 1876 - 27. APRIL 1909, GESTORBEN 10. FEBRUAR 1918 Goldprägungen der Münzstätte Misr (Kairo) 10 Kurush 1293 H., 4, Misr (Kairo). Mit Blume neben der Tughra. GOLD. RR Henkelspur, sehr schön + (Ottoman coins of Abdul Hamid II, 1876-1909, Cairo mint. Gold ten qirsh, AH 1293, year 1, with bloom near the toughra, rare, trace of mounting, very fine plus.)"
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.8554 g, 0.875 fine gold, 0.024 troy oz AGW. This specimen 0.86 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-94 (formerly Fr-21), KM A282; Ölcer 34.509.
- 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.
- 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.
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