Selim III inherited a treasury hollowed out by decades of war with Russia and Austria, and the yüzlük was among the debased coinages issued to bridge chronic fiscal shortfalls during his reign. The billon content reflects not an isolated policy choice but a monetary system in managed collapse — silver fractions had been quietly reduced across multiple denominations throughout the late eighteenth century.
Selim was deposed in 1807 by Janissaries opposed to his Nizam-ı Cedid military reforms. Coins of his reign at Islambol are therefore confined to an eighteen-year window that ended violently.
Selim III inherited a treasury hollowed out by decades of war with Russia and Austria, and the yüzlük was among the debased coinages issued to bridge chronic fiscal shortfalls during his reign. The billon content reflects not an isolated policy choice but a monetary system in managed collapse — silver fractions had been quietly reduced across multiple denominations throughout the late eighteenth century.
Selim was deposed in 1807 by Janissaries opposed to his Nizam-ı Cedid military reforms. Coins of his reign at Islambol are therefore confined to an eighteen-year window that ended violently.