Turkey AH1293(16) 100 kurush
This specimen was part of lot 31668 in Heritage sale 3049 (Long Beach, September 2016), which sold for $5,933.75. The catalog description[1] noted, "Abdul Hamid II gold 4-Piece Certified Date Set AH 1293//16 (1876), 1) 25 Kurush - MS64 NGC; 2) 50 Kurush - MS64 NGC; 3) 100 Kurush - MS63 NGC; 4) 250 Kurush - MS65 NGC. An exceptional gold date set and given the uniform superb quality (each example showing in rarely seen condition) quite possibly once given as a presentation set, as the odds of these coins not residing alongside each other for their entire existence would be extreme. Individually, each is the finest certified at NGC, but as a set, possessing a seldom-rivaled "wow" factor. From the Commander Collection." This specimen is from a series struck in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid (r. 1876-1909). This denomination was introduced during the rule of Sultan Abdul Mejid (r. 1839-61). Ottoman coins were dated using regnal years; the reverse bears the date AH 1293 (= 1876 A.D.) while the obverse bears the regnal year 16 (= AH 1308 = Aug. 1890-Aug. 1891). The Hejira calendar uses a lunar year instead of a solar year, so its starting date moves from year to year. This type was issued AH 1299-1327 (1880-1908); some dates are listed with very low mintages but the SCWC prices them all the same. The last gold 100 kurush of this size was issued in 1929, under Ataturk's Republic.
Recorded mintage: 722,000.
Specification: 7.22 g, 0.917 fine gold, .212 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: KM 730, Fr-143 (formerly Fr-41).
- 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]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World Coin Auction 3049, featuring the Ohio Valley Collection, the Redwood Collection and the F.P. Briand Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2016.
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