20 Para - Mahmud II

Mahmud II came to the Ottoman throne in 1808 following one of the bloodiest succession crises in the empire's history — Mustafa IV had his predecessor Selim III murdered to prevent restoration, before being deposed himself within days. Egyptian coinage of this reign reflects a province already drifting toward autonomy under Muhammad Ali, who had consolidated his grip on Cairo by that same year. The billon standard here signals chronic silver shortages that plagued Ottoman provincial mints throughout this period.