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10 Kurush
| Issuer | Ottoman Treasury (Hazine-i Devlet) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853-1854 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#23 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in black on the same cream paper stock and shows, through show-through from folding, the ghost impression of the obverse guilloché border. The principal design element is a large circular official seal, printed in black at centre, bearing densely composed Ottoman calligraphic inscriptions within a scrollwork surround. A broad arch-shaped underprint vignette with fine arabesque relief work is visible above the seal, while faint radiating lines occupy the lower register. |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Circular Ottoman Treasury seal printed in black ink at the foot of the obverse and repeated on the reverse, bearing calligraphic inscriptions as an authentication device. |
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| Comments |
The Hazine-i Devlet notes of 1853–54 were issued under acute fiscal pressure — the Crimean War had just begun, and the Ottoman treasury was hemorrhaging silver to military expenditure. These kaime, as they were broadly called, represented an attempt to paper over a coinage shortage that had been worsening since the earlier kaime experiments of the 1840s, when Abdülmecid I first reluctantly authorized paper currency against strong public resistance.
Forgery was an immediate and serious problem with this series. The sole security feature being an official seal made counterfeiting relatively straightforward, and depreciation followed quickly — holders discounted the notes heavily in bazaar transactions almost from the start.