Catalog
5 Livres
| Issuer | Ottoman Public Debt Administration (Düyun-u Umumiye) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Livres |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The face is dominated by an elaborate guilloche border in green tones enclosing a central oval cartouche bearing the Ottoman tughra at upper centre, with Arabic inscriptions naming the issuing authority and denomination. The numeral '5' appears in each lower corner within ornamental frames, and two serial numbers are printed in black across the lower field beneath the central text block, accompanied by a manuscript signature. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The back is printed entirely in green with a dense symmetrical guilloche pattern forming the border, flanking a large central cartouche containing multi-line Ottoman Turkish text in Arabic script setting out the note's legal terms and guarantee clause. The large numeral '5' appears in both lateral margins within interlaced ornamental panels, and a manuscript signature is present at the foot of the central text cartouche. |
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| Comments |
The Düyun-u Umumiye — the Ottoman Public Debt Administration — was not a bank but a foreign creditor consortium established in 1881 to manage Ottoman state finances directly after the empire's catastrophic 1875 default. That it was issuing paper currency by 1917 reflects how completely the wartime economy had broken down: the Imperial Ottoman Bank, the nominal bank of issue, could no longer sustain circulation alone.
Giesecke & Devrient in Leipzig produced this note during active hostilities, meaning it was printed in a German ally's facility and shipped across a war zone for circulation in Ottoman territories — a logistical arrangement that grew increasingly strained as the war progressed.