Catalog
5 Livres
| Issuer | Ottoman Public Debt Administration (Düyun-u Umumiye) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Size | 183 x 113 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | دولتِ عليّهٔ عثمانيّه ٣٠ مارت ١٣٣١ تاريخلي بو نوتجه خمس ليرا عثمانيه |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a single reddish-brown tone on plain paper, with a large central text panel containing the Ottoman redemption and guarantee clause in multi-line cursive script, framed by elaborate symmetrical arabesque vignettes at left and right. The large numeral '5' is set into the left portion of the design against a lightly engraved background. A manuscript signature of the issuing official appears below the central text block, centred on the note. |
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| Comments |
The Düyun-u Umumiye was a foreign-administered debt collection body established in 1881 after the Ottoman government's 1875 default — effectively a supervisory authority run by European creditor powers that controlled substantial Ottoman revenue streams. That it issued emergency currency in 1915 reflects how completely the wartime financial apparatus had collapsed: the Imperial Ottoman Bank and the central government were both struggling to maintain liquidity, and the administration stepped in as an ancillary source of paper.
Giesecke & Devrient in Leipzig printed the series, though wartime blockades and disrupted transit routes made delivery increasingly difficult as 1915 progressed. Notes from this issue occasionally show handling damage consistent with rough field circulation rather than urban banking use.