Catalog
1 Para - Mahmud II
| Issuer | Tripoli, Regency of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1808 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | Arabic inscription contained within a square cartouche, identifying the mint, with eight decorative loops or pellets arranged around the exterior of the square border. The calligraphic legend occupies the full field within the cartouche and is struck in a bold, if somewhat crude, hammered style consistent with provincial Tripolitan copper issues of the early nineteenth century. The surrounding field displays the characteristic irregular edge of the hand-struck flan. |
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| Additional information |
Tripoli's regency coinage under Mahmud II occupied an awkward political position: the Karamanli dynasty still governed the province with considerable autonomy, yet was formally obligated to strike in the sultan's name following Ottoman suzerainty conventions. By 1808, the dynasty was less than a decade removed from its bruising war with the United States — the First Barbary War ended in 1805 — and the regency's finances remained strained. Small copper fractions like this para were the everyday transactional currency that the silver and gold issues never touched.