20 Para - Mahmud II

Mahmud II came to power in 1808 through one of the bloodiest palace coups of the late Ottoman period — his predecessor Mustafa IV was deposed, and Selim III, whom reformers had hoped to restore, was murdered by Mustafa's loyalists before Mahmud could reach him. This coin dates to that accession year, when the new sultan had no real grip on the empire and the Janissaries still held effective veto power over the throne.

Mahmud would eventually destroy the Janissary corps entirely in 1826, the so-called Auspicious Incident. But in 1808 that outcome was nearly two decades away.