Ottoman Empire Coin

Hello and welcome.

Your coin bears the mint-name "Islambul", which was the quasi-official name for Constantinople/Istanbul at the time. "1203" is the date, in the Islamic calendar, in which this particular Sultan (Selim III) came to power; "13" is the year of reign of that Sultan in which the coin was struck. So to get the actual year of issue, add the two numbers together and subtract 1, thus 1203 + 13 - 1 = 1215, which converts roughly to AD 1800. You will find it listed under "Turkey" in the Krause world coin catalogues.

Four different coins were issued with this date; they all have much the same designs so are differentiated by size and/or weight. The 10 para weighs about 3 grams and is about 22mm across; the 20 para is 6 grams 29mm, the 1 kurush 12 grams 37mm and the 2 kurush 25 grams and 40mm. The 10 para and 2 kurush are cheap and common, the other two are scarcer.

Your coin does appear to have been badly scuffed, presumably in an attempt by a previous owner at polishing it. This will hurt the value.

Thank you so much for your reply. I own the 2 kurush coin after all.