Issued in January 1914, the 200 Piastre stamp of Turkey or the Ottoman Empire is bearing the portrait of Sultan Mohammed V is one of the most unique and demanded stamps of Turkey.

The Ottoman Empire in northwestern Asia Minor was founded in the 12th century. From Anatolia the Ottoman Turks spread out, conquering the Asian Near East, southeastern Europe up to the gates of Vienna, Egypt and much of North Africa.

Also known as Mehmed V Read, Sultan Mohammed V was the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan. His reign began in the year 1909, but under his rule, the Ottoman Empire lost all its remaining territory in North Africa to Italy and nearly all its European territories in the Balkan war. He joined the central powers in World War I but did not live to see the end of the war.

His reign saw a number of beautiful stamps. The key and most beautiful set of stamps is the colorful pictorial set of 17. Several of the stamps are bicolor, and all show interesting scenes of the empire.

The 200 Piastre stamp depicts the portrait of the sultan in the center flanked by intricate design similar to the Turkish Architecture with the denomination in Roman and Arabic numerals at the bottom and the name of the country at the top.

The stamp values USD 500 in unused hinged condition and USD 400 in used condition with the value in italics. The stamp is a good buy and a good collectible.

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