Catalog
Akce - Mehmed III Aleppo
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1595 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Akçe (1534-1687) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | 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 script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field bearing a three-line Arabic legend in compressed calligraphic script, giving the invocatory phrase, mint name, and regnal year. The inscription reads 'izza nasruhu / duriba fi Halab / sana 1003', meaning 'May his victory be glorious / Struck in Aleppo / Year 1003'. A dotted border of raised pellets encircles the central legend, consistent with standard Ottoman provincial akçe typology. The flan is irregular in outline, as is typical of hand-struck Ottoman small silver coinage of this period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | عز نصره ضرب في حلب سنة ١٠٠٣ (Translation: May he be victorious Struck in Aleppo Year 1003) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Mehmed III came to the throne in 1595 following the death of Murad III, and his accession was marked by the execution of nineteen of his brothers — the largest single application of the Ottoman fratricide law. Coins were struck in his name across the empire's provincial mints almost immediately, Aleppo among them, as recoinage on succession was standard Ottoman fiscal practice.
By this point the akçe had been debased so severely over the preceding decades that its silver content was a fraction of what earlier issues had carried. The 0.20g weight reflects late-sixteenth-century Ottoman monetary deterioration, not a provincial minting anomaly.