Catalog
30 Para 'Zolota' - Mahmud II type B
| Issuer | Tripoli, Regency of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1810 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver |
| 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 | The obverse displays the imperial tughra of Sultan Mahmud II rendered in elaborate calligraphic Arabic script, occupying the central field. Below the tughra, a horizontal cartouche contains the mint name and regnal year. The legend reads 'Mahmud, struck in Tripoli West, 1223' in Arabic script, with the AH date 1223 appearing prominently in the lower field. The overall design follows the standard Ottoman provincial coinage style, with the tughra as the dominant compositional element. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Tripoli's regency coinage occupies an awkward administrative space — nominally Ottoman, practically autonomous. By 1810, the Karamanli dynasty had held effective control of Tripolitania for over a century, extracting tribute from European powers and running its own foreign policy while maintaining the fiction of submission to Istanbul. This coin's Mahmud II attribution reflects that fiction: the sultan's name provides legitimacy, the Tripolitan mint provides the silver.
The 30 para denomination, sometimes recorded as "zolota" from the corrupted Ottoman term, circulated alongside a chaotic mix of Spanish, French, and local issues along the North African coast. KM#174 is among the heavier survivors of this type.