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Kurus - Abdülhamid I Kostantiniyye mint
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1780-1788 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | KM#398 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays a multi-line Ottoman Arabic inscription arranged in horizontal registers across the field, reading the royal title of Sultan Abdülhamid I. The legend proclaims his sovereignty over two lands and two seas, followed by the dynastic formula 'Sultan ibn al-Sultan'. The regnal year 15 (corresponding to AH 1201 / AD 1787) appears prominently within the inscription field to the left. The entire inscription is enclosed within a beaded circular border, consistent with the coin's type. |
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| Additional information |
Abdülhamid I's reign was defined by catastrophic military reversals — the 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca had already stripped the Ottomans of Crimea and extracted humiliating concessions to Russia, and the wars grinding through the 1780s drained the treasury continuously. The billon composition of this kurus reflects that fiscal pressure directly; the silver content had been systematically debased across successive reigns, and by Abdülhamid's time the coinage was barely holding the threshold that still allowed it to circulate as a silver-denominated piece.
Kostantiniyye remained the prestige mint, but output quality was inconsistent. Planchet preparation suffered during periods of acute wartime expenditure.