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Yirmilik - Abdülhamid I Konstantiniyye Mint
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1773 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a four-row Arabic legend arranged in horizontal bands divided by ruled lines, presenting the full imperial titulature of Sultan Abdülhamid I in a formal calligraphic hand. The inscription reads 'Sultan ül berreyn ve Hakan ül bahreyn es Sultan ibn es Sultan,' proclaiming the sultan's sovereignty over two continents and two seas. Additional decorative foliate or floral elements appear in the upper portion of the field above the first line of text, consistent with Ottoman die-engraving conventions of the period. The legends fill the coin's flan closely, leaving minimal open field at the periphery. A post-mint suspension hole pierces the upper field, partially affecting the uppermost inscription. |
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| Mintage | 1187 (1773) 1 - - 1187 (1773) 2 - - 1187 (1773) 3 - - 1187 (1773) 4 - - 1187 (1773) 5 - - 1187 (1773) 6 - - 1187 (1773) 7 - - 1187 (1773) 8 - - |
| Additional information |
The yirmilik — a twenty-para piece — was among the debased silver denominations that proliferated during the chronic fiscal strain of the mid-to-late eighteenth-century Ottoman treasury. 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 challenges. This 1773 piece predates his accession by a year, placing it under Mustafa III, whose reign saw mounting war debts from the disastrous 1768–1774 conflict with Russia that culminated in the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca.
The Konstantiniyye mint was the empire's primary striking facility throughout this period. Billon at this fineness reflects deliberate debasement policy, not accident.