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5 piastres - Mahmud II imitation
| Issuer | Monaco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1834 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 14.5 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field features the elaborate tughra (imperial monogram) of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, rendered in stylized calligraphic form. The tughra is enclosed within a decorative wreath or floral garland border, bound at the base by a ribbon, all contained within a beaded or dotted inner circle. The overall design closely imitates the official Ottoman 5-piastre coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain or Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Monaco struck this piece to circulate in the Levantine trade networks where Ottoman piastres were the accepted medium of exchange. The principality had no formal monetary agreement with the Porte, making this an opportunistic commercial imitation rather than a treaty coinage — produced to profit from the weight-based trust Mediterranean merchants placed in Ottoman silver.
The silver-clad copper construction was the operative deception. A contemporary Ottoman piastre carried genuine silver throughout; this did not.