Catalog
10 Para - Mahmud II
| Issuer | Tripoli, Regency of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1808 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Reverse description | Central field bears a multi-line Arabic inscription in cursive script denoting the mint name and regnal year, all contained within a beaded inner circle. The legend references the mint of Tripoli of the West (Tarabulus al-Gharb) and the Hijri year 1223, with the regnal year indicated above. A further beaded border encircles the entire design, and the irregular flan edge is characteristic of the hammered technique employed at the Tripoli mint. |
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| Mintage | 1223 (1808) 10 - ١٠//١٢٢٣ - 1223 (1808) 9 - ٩//١٢٢٣ - |
| Additional information |
Tripoli's billon coinage under Mahmud II reflects the fractured authority of the Karamanli dynasty in its waning decades — nominally Ottoman vassals, the Karamanli beys struck their own local issues with only loose acknowledgment of the sultan's suzerainty. By 1808, the regency was already accumulating the debts and internal rivalries that would culminate in the civil war of the 1820s and direct Ottoman reimposition of control in 1835.
Billon quality in Tripolitan issues varies considerably, and KM#134 is no exception — the silver content is low enough that many surviving pieces have corroded to an almost copper appearance.