Catalog
5 Para
| Issuer | Ottoman Ministry of Finance |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Piastre (1844-1923) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | دولت عثمانيه منسري ٥ پاره |
| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting a plain cream paper surface devoid of any design, text, or ornamentation, characteristic of the emergency low-denomination postage-currency issues produced by the Ottoman Ministry of Finance during the latter stages of the First World War. |
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| Comments |
The Ottoman 5 Para of 1917 is among the smallest-denomination paper money ever issued by a major empire in the modern period — a direct consequence of catastrophic coin shortages during the First World War. Bronze and nickel had been commandeered for military use, leaving the Treasury no practical option but to print fractional currency at sub-piastre denominations that would normally have been handled entirely in metal.
The Ministry of Finance series to which Pick 116 belongs was printed domestically, not abroad — a significant departure from earlier Ottoman paper issues that had relied on European printers. By 1917, the British naval blockade had made foreign contracts nearly impossible to fulfill.