Turkey AH 1223(3) kurush
This specimen was lot 1882 in Steve Album Auction 54 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2026), where it sold for $228. The catalog description[1] noted, "TURKEY: Mahmud II, 1808-1839, AR kurush, Kostantiniye, AH1223 year 3, XF, ex Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection." Ottoman coins were dated using regnal years; the reverse bears the date AH 1223 (= 1808 A.D.) while the obverse bears the regnal year 3 (= 1810 A.D.). 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 during years 3-13. The continuous debasement occurring during this reign meant that most coin types were shortlived and the distinctions between them often arbitrary. After the reform of 1839, the kuruş was stabilized as a coin the size of a half dime.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 9.6 g, 0.465 fine silver, this specimen 9.77 g.
Catalog reference: KM-560.
- 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.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 54, featuring selections from the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
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