Is this Turkish???

Hvactech19

Sr. Member
Oct 28, 2019
257
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Connecticut
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Predator 3, AT MAX, EQUINOX 800
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All Treasure Hunting

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Upvote 10
It was likely minted in Turkey, but it's 'Ottoman Empire' and would have circulated in other places too. It should have a date represented by the Islamic year in the area I have circled below (picture oriented to be the right way up) but I can't read it:

Ottoman.jpg

If it's 18mm in diameter it will be a 10 para coin, like this one, which is Abdülhamid II with an Islamic year of 1293 (=1900-1904 in our calendar, allowing for the numeric year of his reign):

Ottoman 10 Para.jpg

If smaller, it will be a 5 para coin. Some sources misleadingly describe these coins as 'silver', but they're made from billon and are a low grade silver alloy with 90% copper and only 10% silver.
 

Last edited:
It was likely minted in Turkey, but it's 'Ottoman Empire' and would have circulated in other places too. It should have a date represented by the Islamic year in the area I have circled below (picture oriented to be the right way up) but I can't read it:

View attachment 1987022

If it's 18mm in diameter it will be a 10 para coin, like this one, which is Abdülhamid II with an Islamic year of 1293 (1900-1904 in our calendar):

View attachment 1987023
Wow. Fantastic ID! Kinda weird finding it out in a field where I’m located.
 

The design on coin '9684' is called a 'tugra'. It is a Sultanic Cipher; a means to ID the specific Sultan since each had his own tugra.
ID the tugra and you have the name of the Sultan (and his reign).
Don.....
PS: For example:
120px-Tughra_of_Selim_III.JPG
 

From the inception of the Ottoman Empire in 1299, until its dissolution in 1922, the sultans from the House of Osman ruled the Ottoman dynasty in direct succession. The second ruler Sultan Orhan I (1288-1360) was the first to have a tughra designed as a calligraphic monogram or signature that would be affixed to all official documents.
(Source: https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2021/07/the-sultans-tughra/
One story surrounding Sultan Orhan I is that he was asked to sign a document. Not knowing how to write his name, he dipped his three middle fingers into an ink well and scribbled an image. You can see he started at the top with the three parallel lines; then continued with a flurry.
Don.......
 

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