Beslik - Mahmud II Kostantiniyye mint

The beslik — a five-piastre denomination — was introduced under Mahmud II as part of his broader effort to rationalize Ottoman coinage following decades of severe debasement under Selim III and the monetary chaos of the Janissary-dominated court. By 1810, the silver content of circulating coinage had collapsed so dramatically that public confidence in Ottoman currency was near its nadir. The beslik represented a partial corrective, though the .730 fineness it was struck to still reflected significant compromise from earlier Ottoman silver standards.

Kostantiniyye-struck pieces from this reign often show variation in planchet quality across the issue's eight-year span.