1/4 Rial - Mahmud I

Mahmud I's reign over Ottoman-administered Tunis was marked by persistent tension between the Porte's nominal suzerainty and the practical autonomy exercised by the Husainid beys. Billon coinage of this period reflects that ambiguity — struck locally under bey authority, yet issued in denominations calibrated to the Ottoman monetary framework. The alloy itself, heavily debased silver, was a fiscal necessity in a regency chronically short of specie.

KM#42 is among the scarcer Husainid types from this transitional decade.