1 Kharub - Abdulmecid I and Muhammad II Countermarked

This piece belongs to a class of Tunisian copper that was countermarked under the dual authority system operating in the Beylik — Ottoman suzerainty nominally held by Abdülmecid I in Constantinople, practical governance exercised by the Husainid bey Muhammad II in Tunis. The countermark practice addressed chronic shortages of small-denomination coinage in circulation, effectively revalidating or revaluing existing struck pieces rather than producing entirely new ones. Tunisia's monetary administration in this period was under considerable strain, partly from the financial pressures that would culminate in the 1869 debt default and establishment of the International Financial Commission.