Turkey AH 1293(17) 2 kurush
This specimen was lot 2272 in Stephen Album sale 38 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2020), where it sold for $178.50. The catalog description[1] noted, "TURKEY: Abdul Hamid II, 1876-1909, AR 2 kuruş, Kostantiniye, AH1293 year 17, a superb lustrous example! PCGS graded MS65." This specimen is from a series struck in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876-1909). Ottoman coins were dated using regnal years; the reverse bears the date AH 1293 (= 1876 A.D.) while the obverse bears the regnal year 17. 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 1300-1327 (1883-1909). This date is common.
Recorded mintage: 3,736,000, a common date.
Specifications: 2.41 g, 0.830 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 736.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 38, featuring the Dabestani Collection of Persian Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
- Uslu, Kaan, Beyazit, M. Fatih, and Kara, Tuncay, Ottoman Empire Coins, Istanbul: Mas Matbaacilik A.S., 2007.
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