Turkey AH 1293(28) 2 kurush
This specimen was lot 73389 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2023), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "TURKEY. Ottoman Empire. 2 Kurush, AH 1293 Year 28 (1903). Constantinople (Istanbul) Mint. Abdulhamid II. PCGS MS-64. Held back from full Gem status on account of a few light marks in the obverse field, this elegant and enticing minor sports a rather attractive iridescent tone." This specimen is from a series struck years 8-13, 16-34 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 23. The Hejira calendar uses a lunar year instead of a solar year, so its starting date moves from year to year.
Recorded mintage: 7,567,000, a common date.
Specification: 2.40 g, 0.833 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-736.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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