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 Para - Selim III French Occupation
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire - Eyalet of Egypt |
|---|---|
| Year | 1800-1801 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse bears multi-line Arabic inscriptions in the central field recording the mint name and date of issue, divided across several lines in the traditional Ottoman manner. The regnal year (Year 13 or 14) appears prominently alongside the Hijri accession year 1203, with the mint epithet indicating striking at Misr (Egypt). The legends are enclosed within a plain inner border and a prominent beaded outer rim consistent with the obverse, giving the coin a uniform decorative frame on both sides. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Misr (Cairo) Mint |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Napoleon's Egyptian campaign left the Ottoman monetary system in Cairo in a state of administrative chaos. When French forces occupied Egypt from 1798, they initially relied on existing Ottoman coinage but soon found local mint operations disrupted enough to require intervention. This billon issue — debased silver well below standard — reflects the degraded monetary conditions of the occupation period rather than any deliberate French policy decision.
The Misr mint continued operating under nominal Ottoman authority even as French administrators held practical control, an awkward jurisdictional fiction that ended with the British-assisted Ottoman reconquest in 1801.