Turkey AH1327(4) 500 kurush
This specimen was lot 3354 in Künker sale 264 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €1,200 (about US$1,550 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Mohammed V. 1909-1918. 500 Piaster 1911 (= 1330 AH), 4. Regierungsjahr, Konstantinopel (Istanbul). 33,07 g Feingold. GOLD. Henkelspur, leichte Bearbeitungsspuren, sonst sehr schön-vorzüglich. (Turkey, Mohammed V, 1909-18, 500 piastres of 1330 AH, regnal year 4, Istanbul mint. Mount mark, some tooling, very fine to extremely fine.)"
This specimen is from a series struck in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Muhammed V (r. 1909-18). 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 1327 (= 1909 A.D.) while the obverse bears the regnal year 4 (= AH 1330). 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 1327-1333 (1908-14); 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: 10,250.
Specification: 36.08 g, 0.917 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 758, Fr-152 (formerly Fr-50); Schl. 645.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 264, Gold coins | Russian Coins and Medals | German Coins after 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
- 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.
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