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50 Kuruş
| Issuer | Ottoman Treasury (Hazine-i Devlet) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1840 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed on plain white paper in a vertical format, the note bears Ottoman Turkish text in naskh and divani scripts arranged in horizontal bands across the face. Two circular tughra seal impressions appear at upper centre and lower left, with a larger circular Ottoman official seal at lower centre bearing Arabic calligraphic inscriptions. Manuscript notations in Ottoman script are interspersed between the printed text lines, consistent with the hand-completed kaime treasury note format of the Tanzimat-era first paper money issue. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse of this early Ottoman kaime is plain, with no printed design or text, consistent with the unilateral printing practice employed for this inaugural 1840 Treasury issue. |
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| Comments |
The 1840 Kaime issue — of which this 50 Kuruş is a part — marks the first time the Ottoman state issued paper money. The decision came directly from the financial pressures of Mahmud II's reign and its aftermath: the treasury was effectively bankrupt, military expenditure had outrun revenue, and the Tanzimat reformers needed a stopgap before securing European loans. These notes were not a banking product but a government promissory instrument, interest-bearing at eight percent and theoretically redeemable — a distinction the public largely distrusted.
Acceptance was deeply reluctant. Merchants discounted the Kaime heavily against coin from the outset, and counterfeiting was a problem almost immediately given the minimal security of a single official seal.