Turkey AH 1203(2) altin
This specimen was lot 440 in Stephen Album sale 43 (Santa Rosa, CA, May 2022), where it sold for $1,080. The catalog description[1] noted, "TURKEY: Selim III, 1789-1807, AV altin, Islambul, AH1203 year 2, a lovely mint state example! PCGS graded MS63." The vast majority of survivors have been removed from jewelry. 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 1203, years 1, 2, 3, 6. It may have been intended to trade for a ducat but we can't if the fineness matched the 23½ carat standard of the ducat. 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 kurush.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.45 g, gold.
Catalog reference: KM-527.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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.
- 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 Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 43, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2022.
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