Egypt AH 1327(6)-H 1/40 qirsh
This specimen was lot 1875 in Steve Album Auction 55 (Santa Rosa, CA, May 2026), where it sold for $105. The catalog description[1] noted, "EGYPT: Muhammad V, 1909-1914, AE 1/40 qirsh, Misr, AH1327 year 6-H, wonderful surfaces and color, a lovely example! NGC graded MS66 RD, ex The 1914 Collection. Finest graded by both NGC and PCGS." The coin shown is a copper 1/40 qirsh from the reign of Mehmed V. It was struck at the Heaton Mint, noted by the presence of the letter H at the base of the obverse. This denomination represents a member of a coinage reform started in 1884 AD. Previous to that date, coins with a value less than 1 qirsh were given in the unit 'para'. All fractional qirshes after 1884 were given values directly proportional to one qirsh, eg. 1/40 qirsh, 1/20 qirsh, 1/10 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. This example sold for five times the catalog value.
Recorded mintage: 1,200,000.
Specifications: 2 g, bronze, 17.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-300.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Valentine, W.H., Modern Copper Coins of the Muhammadan States, London: Spink and Sons, 1911.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 55, featuring Selections from the Swamperbob Gurney Collection of Cap & Ray 8 Reales, the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins and the 1914 Collection of World Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2026.
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