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100 Livres Turques
| Issuer | Dette Publique Ottomane |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Livre turque (1844-1927) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The centre of the note is occupied by a large cartouche with a light pink guilloche underprint, enclosing multi-line Ottoman Turkish calligraphic text stating the issuing authority, denomination, and date. The tughra of Sultan Mehmed V is positioned at the top centre, framed by intricate geometric and floral arabesque borders rendered in brown ink. The denomination '100' appears in both Western and Arabic-Indic numerals at the left and right margins, with a calligraphic seal at the lower centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is laid out with a central panel of Ottoman Turkish calligraphic text set within a guilloche border, stating the note's legal status and penalty clauses for counterfeiting. The denomination '100' is repeated in Western numerals and Arabic-Indic script at the outer margins. An ornamental frame of geometric and arabesque motifs encloses the entire design. |
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| Comments |
The Dette Publique Ottomane — the Ottoman Public Debt Administration — was not a Turkish institution in any straightforward sense. Established by European creditors after the Ottoman default of 1875, it operated as a semi-sovereign financial body that collected designated tax revenues directly on behalf of foreign bondholders. By 1917, with the empire deep in World War I and the imperial treasury effectively bankrupt, this body was still issuing paper money under its own name rather than the state's.
The 100 Livres Turques denomination was among the highest-value notes circulating during the war years, a period of severe inflation that made large denominations both necessary and nearly worthless in short succession.