Catalog
10 Para
| Issuer | Ottoman Ministry of Finance |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in olive-green and reddish-brown tones on plain paper with perforated edges reminiscent of postage stamp format. A central vignette depicts a camel rider beside palm trees against a radiating sunburst motif in the upper field, enclosed within an ornate arabesque border with interlacing guilloche work. An octagonal imperial tughra cartouche occupies the upper right corner, with Ottoman Arabic inscriptions running along the upper and lower panels. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, showing plain cream-toned paper stock with a slightly fibrous texture and perforated edges consistent with the stamp-format construction of this emergency wartime issue. |
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| Comments |
Issued under wartime fiscal pressure, this note belongs to a series the Ottoman Ministry of Finance produced domestically after access to European printing houses was severed by the First World War. Earlier Ottoman issues had been printed in France; by 1917 that was no longer possible, and the quality difference is visible in surviving examples — the printing is noticeably cruder.
The para denominations of this series circulated heavily among the urban poor and in bazaar trade, where coin shortages had become acute. Small-denomination paper was widely distrusted and often refused outside major cities.