Turkey AH 1223(13) rumi altin
This specimen was lot 699 in Stephen Album sale 37 (Santa Rosa, CA, June 2020), where it sold for $166.60. The catalog description[1] noted, "TURKEY: Mahmud II, 1808-1839, AV rumi altin, Kostantiniye, AH1223 year 13, choice AU, ex Ahmed Sultan Collection." This specimen is from a series struck in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808-39). Ottoman coins were dated using regnal years; the reverse bears the date AH 1223 (= 1808 A.D.) while the obverse bears the regnal year 13 (AH 1235 = October 1819-October 1820). 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 years 9-15. The gold was the victim of frequent manipulation and the denominations changed names in a confusing manner. The SCWC lists zeri mahbubs, rumi altins, adli altins, yeni altins and hayriye altins for this period. Matters were regularized in the reign of Abdul Mejid, with gold coins issued in multiples of the kuruş.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.4 g, gold, 23 mm diameter, this specimen 2.40 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-94, KM-616.
- 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 1687-1839 (AH 1099-1255), Istanbul: Anka Matbaacilik, 2010.
- 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.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 37, featuring the Gamal Amer Collection of Egyptian Coins and the Ahmed Sultan Collection of Ottoman Coins, Part II, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
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