Egypt AH 1293(5) 5 qirsh
The coin shown is a gold five 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 5 above. A crude floral design sits right of the toughra. The reverse carries the accession date and the text minted in Misr (Misr is Arabic for Egypt). The date is written as AH 1293 year 5, which translates to about 1879 AD.
This specimen was lot 2413 in Sincona sale 59 (Zürich, October 2019), where it sold for 100 CHF (about US$121 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"OSMANISCHES REICH | ´Abd al-Hamid Khan II, 1293-1327 H./1876-1909 (m. 1918) AD, 5 Kurush 1293 H./Jahr 5, Misr (Kairo). Tughra neben Blütenzweig über Wertangabe, Regierungsjahr über Münzstätte und Jahr des Regierungsanfangs. Selten. Vorzüglich. (Turkey, Abdul Hamid II, 1876-1909, gold five qirsh of AH 1293, year 5, Cairo mint. Rare, Extremely fine.)"
Recorded mintage: unknown but a better date.
Specification: 0.420 g, 0.875 fine gold, 0.0118 troy oz AGW. This specimen 0.40 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-96 (formerly Fr-22), KM 280. Ölcer 34.555. Pere -. Sultan coll. 607.
- 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.
- Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M. Fatih, and Kara, Tuncay. Ottoman Empire Coins, Istanbul: Mas Matbaacilik A.S., 2007.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, Sincona Auction 59: Gold and Silver Coins and Medals; Coins and Medals from Switzerland, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2019.
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