Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Dette Publique Ottomane |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | بو بنق بیانی و ان نفسه ذلك فا يستيفي ويبور جمهور بيك هما اوامر ستوزيع بيلتصا ارلغبها ١٠ |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Watermarked paper with a pattern visible when held to light. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Dette Publique Ottomane — the Ottoman Public Debt Administration — was a European-controlled financial body established in 1881 after the Sublime Porte's catastrophic 1875 default. That a foreign creditor syndicate, not the Ottoman treasury, was issuing currency by 1915–1917 tells you everything about the empire's fiscal condition in its final years. These wartime notes were necessitated by a complete collapse of public confidence in Ottoman financing and the near-impossibility of importing quality printed currency through a wartime naval blockade.
The cotton substrate and watermark security were deliberate signals of seriousness to a skeptical public, though widespread counterfeiting remained a documented problem across the series.