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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,351 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
I found this a few weeks ago and decided to try and find out exactly what it is. Even though so worn/damaged not worth a plug nickel. Images are scans, sorry. Could not find a date etc. so thought it may be a token or medal. It is (you can see) pretty well worn and damaged. Is 20/21 m.m in dia., weighs only one gram and is super thin at a tad less than 1 m.m. In hand I can make out a wreath around the outer and a chain circle in the middle with a design inside of that. Both obv. and rev. look similar and there is also a bow connecting the inner chain. Maybe an eagle eye out there can make heads or tails out of it. Thanks.   |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3640 Posts |
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Moderator
 Australia
16832 Posts |
It is Ottoman Turkish, I believe; the "chain wreath" is quite distinctive. And it may not be technically "copper" either; the Ottomans made some very debased silver coins in the 1800s. NGC example. Being holed and used for jewellery was a very common fate for these thin Ottoman coins. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
You're good, Sap. Now, can you make out the central tughra, and identify the sultan?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
797 Posts |
Jeez Sap, Amazing the knowledge that you contain. It impresses me every time.
Have one in slightly better condition, Sap is right on...Unfortunately it may be a bit tough to narrow it down further than that with how worn this appears
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
Thanks all for you help. Appreciate it.
Good eyes also :)
Having it in hand I made it out to be a KM599 AH1233
Got that from World coin gallery pics.
No other info though on it i.e. date, value (if in nice shape)
I barely made out the last arabic numeral as either a 2 or a 3
Still pretty positive it is all copper. Could I get at least a date range on these ?
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Moderator
Australia
16832 Posts |
It can't be KM# 599 (5 kurush), those are nearly twice the diameter of yours, at 38mm across. The same design but 21mm is the 1/2 kurush (or 20 para), KM# 596. The official silver fineness for this series was 0.170 fine. The date range for the 1/2 kurush was 1223//25 to 1223//32 (AD 1831 to 1838).
The difference between this series (ninth series) and the eighth series which preceded it (which was officially 0.220 fine) is a small dot placed below the wreath-knots on the ninth series. I can't see there well enough to tell if yours has dots or not. Eighth series coins ran from 1223//21 to 1223//25.
In case you're confused about all the double-dating, it's a reference to the two dates which appear on these coins. "1223" is the year the sultan Mahmud II ascended the Ottoman throne; all coins of Mahmud II bear the accession date 1223. The second number is the regnal date, indicating the actual year it was struck.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
I believe Sap is well 'on the money'. I have a copper Ottoman coin as pictured, and as he has described.
Ya better believe him!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
Excellent, learned quite a bit. Thank you again.
If you mean a small dot beneath the bow tie on the lower
part of the chain then it has one. If you mean below the wreath knots on the outer edge then I cannot tell.
One last question. They actually added a tad of silver
to the copper ?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
Just a note: On world coin it lists a date of 1656
I saw the dot in the pic. of it on there. KM596 which it is.
Also the last numeral, which is a 3 by the way on my coin
is positioned much further to the right than the one pictured.
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Moderator
Australia
16832 Posts |
Quote:
One last question. They actually added a tad of silver to the copper ? Yes. If the coin is ninth series (with the dot below the wreath-tie knot) then the coin is 17% silver. IF your country is suffering from rampant inflation and you have silver coins in circulation worth more in silver than their face value, you've got two choices: keep the silver fineness the same and reduce the size and weight, or keep the size the same and reduce the purity. The Ottomans chose the second option. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
Oh boy ! I have 10 cents worth of silver now  Worth 2 plug nickels now instead of just one.  Gonna keep the coin anyway. Good conversation piece and a history lesson. Thanks. |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,351 |
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Posted 06/25/2013 10:22 pm
