Catalog
20 Kurush
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
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| Currency | Lira (1844-1923) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is framed by an intricate guilloche border with ornate corner motifs and lateral panels of dense arabesque scrollwork. At the top centre, the imperial tughra of Sultan Abdülmecid I is engraved, flanked by the numeral '20' in each upper corner. The central field carries multi-line Ottoman calligraphic text in naskh script identifying the note as a state treasury obligation, with an oval guilloche vignette at the lower centre. |
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| Obverse lettering | اوراق نفذيه دولت عليه دن يالكزيكرمي غروشلق قائمه معتبره در |
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| Comments |
The 1861 Kaime issue marked a particularly unstable moment in Ottoman monetary affairs. Following the Crimean War and mounting pressure on the imperial treasury, paper money had been repeatedly debased and reissued under emergency conditions — public confidence in kaime notes was so low by the late 1850s that they traded at severe discounts to their face value, sometimes losing 60–70% against metallic currency.
Pick 36 belongs to the fourth kaime series, part of an attempt to stabilize circulation through formal denominated issues with more elaborate printing. The effort had limited success. Withdrawal and replacement came within years.