Turkey AH1171(81) zeri mahbub
This specimen was lot 28328 in Heritage sale 3019 (Chicago, April 2012), where it sold for $373.75. The catalog description[1] noted, "Mustafa III gold Zeri Mahbub AH 1171/81 (1769), UNC, a fully lustrous example." Friedberg calls this coin a "sequin" and assigns one catalog number for the whole run of 1703-1839. 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 1230-1236 (1814-21). 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 but common for the series.
Specification: 2.6 g, 0.800 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 335, Fr-10.
- 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.
- [1]Tucker, Warren, and Cristiano Bierrenbach, World and Ancient Coins sale 3019, Dallas: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2012.
- 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.
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