2019-04-22 Mon

The 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Abdul Hamid II was born on September 21, 1842, in Istanbul. He came to the throne at the deposition of his brother Murad V, on 31 August 1876. Modernization of the Ottoman Empire occurred during his reign.

He oversaw a period of decline, with rebellions particularly in the Balkans, and had an unsuccessful war with the Russian Empire followed by a successful war against the Kingdom of Greece in 1897.

He issued gold, silver, and copper coins. These coins were issued in the denomination of Kurush. It depicted the Tughra calligraphy of ‘Abdul Hamid II’ within sprays and stars on its obverse face. The reverse of a coin has the mint name, value, and date within wreath, star above.

Depicted here is a 100 Kurush issued during his reign from Kostantiniye mint in 1293 AH.

Image Source: www.coinarchives.com