Turkey AH 1223(7) 5 kurush
This specimen was lot 33917 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "Mahmud II 5 Kurush AH 1223 Year 7 (1814/5) MS63 NGC, Constantinople mint. A pleasing weighty type with exceptionally-strong detail on the cartouche before the toughra and along the inner circle on both obverse and reverse. Luster still abounds in the fields while the outer floral border seems to have experienced some weakness of strike." Turkish issues before the reform of 1839 are a mess of constantly changing denominations as the government attempted to debase its way out of perpetual bankruptcy. This type was struck during years 3-11 of Mahmud's reign. It is not listed as expensive but is very difficult to find nice; this example is typical in being weakly struck.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 24-26 g, .730 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 564.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M. Fatih, and Kara, Tuncay, Ottoman Empire Coins 1687-1839 (AH 1099-1255), Istanbul: Anka Matbaacilik, 2010.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
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