100 Livres

The 1908 date puts this note at a pivotal moment: the Young Turk Revolution of that year forced the restoration of the Ottoman constitution, ending Abdülhamid II's autocratic suspension of parliament. The Imperial Ottoman Bank — a Franco-British joint institution chartered in 1863 and headquartered in Galata — continued issuing currency through the political upheaval, its operations underpinned by its dual role as state bank and private commercial enterprise.

Waterlow & Sons produced consistently high-quality intaglio work for colonial and semi-colonial banking clients throughout this period. The watermark security on this series was relatively modest by contemporary standards, reflecting the Bank's ongoing tension with Ottoman authorities over note issuance privileges.