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Kurus - Abdülhamid I Kostantiniyye mint
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1773-1780 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Kuruş |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents four horizontal lines of bold Arabic calligraphic legend filling the central field, framed above and below by plain ruled lines and enclosed within a beaded or milled border. The inscription reads 'Sultan of the two lands and Emperor of the two seas, the Sultan son of the Sultan', a standard Ottoman honorific formula affirming the sovereign's dominion over land and sea. The text is arranged in a cartouche-like format typical of large Ottoman billon coinage of the late 18th century, with evenly spaced lines and decorative star-shaped ornaments visible between certain lines. |
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| Additional information |
Abdülhamid I came to the throne in 1774 after spending over forty years confined in the kafes — the palace apartments where Ottoman princes were isolated to prevent succession struggles. His reign opened immediately into crisis: the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca that same year forced the empire to cede Crimea and acknowledge Russian rights over Orthodox Christian subjects, a concession that reoriented Ottoman foreign policy for the next century. The Kostantiniyye mint was producing coinage against that backdrop of military humiliation and fiscal strain.
Billon issues of this type circulated heavily in Anatolia and the Balkans, and worn survivors are far more common than sharp examples. The .465 fineness reflects chronic silver shortages that had been degrading Ottoman coinage since the late seventeenth century.