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20 Para - Abdülmecid I
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1847-1861 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents multiple lines of Arabic calligraphic text arranged within a three-quarter wreath of olive and laurel branches tied with a ribbon at the base. The inscriptions identify the denomination of 20 Para, the pious acclamation 'Azzah Nasruhu' (May he be victorious), the mint city of Constantinople (Kostantiniyye), and the AH regnal year 1255 at the foot of the legend. The layout is formal and hierarchical, with the mint name and date occupying the lower registers. A fine beaded inner border frames the entire design. |
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| Mintage | 1255 (1847) ٩ - - 400,000 1255 (1848) ١٠ - - 910,000 1255 (1849) ١١ - - 390,000 1255 (1850) ١٢ - - 270,000 1255 (1851) ١٣ - - 230,000 1255 (1852) ١٤ - - 180,000 1255 (1853) ١٥ - - 240,000 1255 (1854) ١٦ - - 270,000 1255 (1855) ١٧ - - 170,000 1255 (1856) ١٨ - - 260,000 1255 (1857) ١٩ - - 900,000 1255 (1858) ٢٠ - - 150,000 1255 (1859) ٢١ - - 250,000 1255 (1860) ٢٢ - - 190,000 1255 (1861) ٢٣ - - 620,000 |
| Additional information |
The 20 Para denomination sat at the heart of Ottoman small-change commerce during the Tanzimat reform period, when Abdülmecid I was reshaping the empire's administrative and fiscal structures under pressure from European creditors. The mint at Constantinople was simultaneously managing a debased copper coinage alongside these silver fractional pieces, a dual-track system that created persistent confusion in the bazaars.
KM#669 is known with considerable variation in die workmanship across its fourteen-year production run — not an error, but a consequence of the imperial mint's inconsistent roller-die maintenance through the 1850s.