Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Livres
| Issuer | Ottoman Public Debt Administration (Düyun-u Umumiye) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Livres |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | دولت علیّه عثمانیه ٥٠٠ 500 28 ذی الحجه 1334 |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ٥٠٠ 500 بو برات ساه ممالك ملك فاسل ربوع وصعوبه شمائله وار اولوب استظلال اهل صنوف ربانی رضمین برشمس کار شوکت اولدیغی صور القرون ودلت رکون دیلمک اوزره دولتلو بونت سلامتلو |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Ottoman Public Debt Administration was not a bank — it was a foreign creditor body established in 1881 to manage repayment of the empire's defaulted external debt, staffed largely by European bondholders' representatives. That it began issuing emergency paper currency in 1916 reflects how completely the empire's financial infrastructure had collapsed under wartime strain, with the Imperial Treasury unable to meet even basic liquidity demands without ceding the function to this quasi-sovereign foreign-controlled agency.
The 500 Livres denomination was the highest in the P#114 series, almost certainly too large for ordinary retail use and likely intended for inter-institutional settlements. High-denomination wartime issues of this type were frequently cancelled or destroyed before the armistice ended their relevance.