Turkey AH1293(33) 500 kurush
This specimen was lot 46157 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $2,160. The catalog description[1] noted, "TURKEY. 500 Kurush, AH 1293 Year 33 (1908). Constantinople Mint. Abdul Hamid II. PCGS Genuine--Mount Removed, AU Details Gold Shield. A well detailed coin with somewhat baggy surfaces. A remnant of a small mount can be seen on the rim at 12 [o'clock]." 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 33 (= AH 1325). 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 500 kurush of this size was issued in 1929, under Ataturk's Republic.
Recorded mintage: 16,403.
Specification: 36.08 g, 0.917 fine gold.
Catalog reference: Fr-141 (formerly Fr-39); KM-733.
- 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, 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 August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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