Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Kurush
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1852 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Lira (1844-1923) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 | The obverse is printed in black on cream paper with an intricate engraved border composed of arabesques and floral corner rosettes. At the upper centre, a large oval vignette emits radiating sunburst lines, while a smaller oval cartouche with an official seal appears at the lower centre. The central panel contains four lines of Ottoman calligraphic script within an ornate rectangular frame with scrollwork surrounds. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Two impressed official seals with Arabic inscriptions affixed to the reverse; handwritten tughra or authorization inscription within an oval panel on the reverse |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The 1852 20 Kurush belongs to the Kaime series — paper money introduced by the Ottoman treasury in 1840 as a desperate measure to finance the costs of military modernization under the Tanzimat reforms. The public never trusted them. Kaime notes circulated at persistent discounts against coin, sometimes losing 30–40% of face value on the open market, and the government's repeated emissions without adequate backing only deepened that distrust over the following decades.
Handwritten authorization signatures on individual notes were the primary anti-counterfeiting control — a system that also made production slow and each note technically unique. Examples with legible, complete authorization scripts command closer attention from specialists.