1 Piastre

The Dette Publique Ottomane — the Ottoman Public Debt Administration — was a European-controlled body established in 1881 to manage debt repayment to foreign creditors after the empire's 1875 default. That a debt administration office was issuing currency by 1916 reflects how severely the war had strained orthodox Ottoman financial institutions. The Sublime Porte effectively delegated small-denomination note production to whatever administrative apparatus could handle it.

The 1 Piastre denomination targeted everyday retail transactions at a moment when metallic coin had largely vanished from circulation, hoarded or melted across the empire's contracting territory.