Catalog
1 Livre Turque
| Issuer | Dette Publique Ottomane |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 144 x 90 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | دولت علیه عثمانیه اداره دیون عمومیه عثمانیه P601220 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in monochrome brown on plain cream paper and carries a large central cartouche of lobed, floral outline filled with dense Ottoman Arabic text setting out the legal tender and redemption conditions. The cartouche is surrounded by an elaborate guilloche framework of interlocking rosette and scroll motifs, with no pictorial vignette. A single manuscript signature appears below the text panel. |
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| Comments |
The Dette Publique Ottomane — the Ottoman Public Debt Administration — was a foreign-controlled body established in 1881 to manage Ottoman sovereign debt on behalf of European creditors. That it was issuing banknotes by 1917 reflects how severely the war had disrupted the empire's normal financial machinery. The Imperial Ottoman Bank, the standard note-issuing authority, could not keep pace with wartime currency demand.
Cotton paper was used across this series partly due to wartime material constraints affecting standard banknote stock. P#99 is among the more frequently encountered notes from this issuer, though paper fragility means intact examples are less common than survival rates might suggest.