Posted 03/27/2023 7:00 pm
Sorry David, but it is indeed a coin, and Ottoman, though not of the "normal": Ottoman type. It is from the mint of Tarabalus Gharb, or Tripoli of the West - the Tripoli in what we now call Libya, as opposed to the Tripoli that's in Lebanon. Ottoman-Libyan coins are typically much simpler and cruder in design than other Ottoman and Ottoman-era Islamic coins. It is a copper para of sultan Mahmud II, undated but believed to be dating from early in his reign (circa AD 1808). Here's an example on zeno.ru. The inscription translates simply to "struck" on one side, and "in Tarabalus" on the other.
As for value, here's the entry in the NGC database. This one is definitely at the upper end of the grading scale.
As for value, here's the entry in the NGC database. This one is definitely at the upper end of the grading scale.
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
