Catalog
2 Medjidiés d'Or
| Issuer | Banque Impériale Ottomane (Devlet-i Aliye-i Osmanye Bankasi) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Green-toned note with a central block of Ottoman Turkish text in Arabic script, framed within an intricate guilloche border. Serial number appears twice in the upper corners as 'No 000433', with a black circular seal affixed below the central text block. The left margin carries the denomination inscription 'MEDJIDIES D'OR 2 MEDJIDIES D'OR' in letterpress, while the lower margin reads 'Remboursable à CONSTANTINOPLE' and 'BANQUE IMPERIALE OTTOMANE' in Roman script. A large blue cancellation overprint reading 'NULÉ ANNULÉ' is applied diagonally across the face. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain cream-toned paper reverse with a central vignette of stacked Ottoman Turkish inscriptions in Arabic script, arranged in a tiered cartouche with guilloche surrounds and two circular seal medallions flanking the central text. The denomination '2' and 'MEDJIDIES D'OR' appear in mirror-readable letterpress at the left margin, and 'Remboursable à CONSTANTINOPLE' is printed in small Roman script at the lower edge. The overall design is spare, relying on the calligraphic text blocks and fine guilloche work as primary decorative elements. |
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The Banque Impériale Ottomane was established by Imperial Firman in February 1863 — a joint Anglo-French venture granted the exclusive right to issue banknotes throughout the Ottoman Empire. This note, denominated in medjidiés d'or, belongs to the bank's earliest emission, issued the same year the bank opened its Constantinople branch. The medjidié d'or was a gold-standard unit tied to the Ottoman gold coinage of Abdülmecid I, an attempt to anchor paper currency to something the bazaar-trading public might actually trust.
The cancellation perforation tells the real story: this example was officially retired, punched through during redemption or administrative withdrawal rather than surviving through circulation.