Catalog
20 Piastres
| Issuer | Dette Publique Ottomane |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 138 x 95 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | 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 | Printed in brown on a cream ground, the obverse is dominated by a large central cartouche with an elaborate floral and geometric guilloche frame enclosing multi-line Arabic text. The Ottoman tughra appears at the top centre above the title inscription in Arabic script, with the denomination numeral '20' in ornate circular vignettes at both upper corners. The series letter 'SÉRIE E' is printed in Roman characters at lower left, with the serial number at lower right, and several lines of Arabic text forming the note's legal and financial clauses occupy the lower half. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | دیون عمومیه عثمانیه قرش ٢٠ SÉRIE E |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Dette Publique Ottomane — the Ottoman Public Debt Administration — was a European-controlled supervisory body established in 1881 after the Ottoman government defaulted on its foreign loans. That a debt management institution, rather than a state bank, became an emergency currency issuer during the First World War reflects how far the empire's conventional financial infrastructure had collapsed by 1917. The imperial treasury could not sustain note production through normal channels, and the Administration stepped in to fill the gap.
These low-denomination wartime issues circulated under severe inflationary pressure and were often treated with public distrust — Ottoman paper money of the period suffered chronic depreciation, and many notes returned to circulation in poor condition after extensive handling. Survivors in better states are not common.