Catalog
100 Livres Turques
| Issuer | Dette Publique Ottomane |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Cotton paper |
| 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 | The reverse is printed in monochrome olive-grey tones, with a central arched vignette panel containing a lengthy Ottoman Turkish text setting out the legal tender and redemption terms of the note. The denomination "١٠٠" (100) appears in large Eastern Arabic numerals at both left and right within ornamental frames, and the value "100" is repeated in Western numerals at the lower centre within a guilloche cartouche. The serial number appears at the top centre, and a facsimile signature is printed below the text panel. |
| Reverse lettering | ١٠٠ ج-001874 وزارت دیونی ملیه بلدیسور |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Dette Publique Ottomane — the Ottoman Public Debt Administration — was a European-controlled body established in 1881 after the empire defaulted on its foreign borrowings. That a debt management council staffed largely by foreign creditors was issuing wartime currency by 1917 says a great deal about the fiscal collapse of the late Ottoman state. With the treasury exhausted and the German alliance offering limited relief, high-denomination notes like this one were a stopgap against accelerating inflation that would only worsen after the armistice.
The embossed seal was the primary authentication measure — a fragile one given the counterfeiting pressures of the period.