12 1/2 Kurus - Abdülhamid II

These fractional gold pieces were struck at the Constantinople mint during the final, paranoid years of Abdülhamid II's reign, a period when the sultan rarely left Yıldız Palace and governed through an extensive network of spies and censors. The tiny size made them practical for everyday transactions at a time when Ottoman finances were already compromised by the Public Debt Administration, the European-controlled body established in 1881 to manage the empire's defaulted obligations.

KM#745 is distinguished by the regnal year expressed in the AH calendar dating from Abdülhamid's accession rather than the Hijri year of striking — a distinction that trips up inexperienced collectors when attributing precise mint years.