5 piastres - Mahmud II imitation

Reverse

Arabic writing on 2 lines, below the date of the Ottoman calendar 1223 (1834 in the Gregorian calendar) surrounded by an ornament tightened by a ribbon in a circle of flowers.

Script: Arabic

Edge

Smooth or ribbed

Comment

In 1837 - 1838, silver-plated copper coins were fraudulently minted for the Levant (Ottoman Empire) in the workshops of the Palais de Monaco.
A copy of these coins is on display at the Principality of Monaco's Musée des Timbres et des Monnaies, together with a blank.
The 1840 inventory of the mint shows the presence of several unused coins and blanks.

Diameter from 38mm to 39mm

This is an automatic translation. The original text is:

Il y a eu en 1837 - 1838 des pièces en cuivre argenté frauduleusement frappées pour le Levant (Empire Ottoman) dans les ateliers du Palais de Monaco.
Un exemplaire de ces monnaies est exposé au Musée des Timbres et des Monnaies de la Principauté de Monaco accompagné d'un flan.
L'inventaire de l'atelier monétaire en 1840 atteste la présence de plusieurs pièces et de plusieurs flans non utilisés

Diamètre de 38mm à 39mm

Interesting fact

One interesting fact about the 5 piastres - Mahmud II (imitation) 1834 coin from Monaco is that it was made of silver-clad copper, which means that the outer layer of the coin was made of a copper alloy that was coated with a thin layer of silver. This was done to give the coin a silver-like appearance while still using a less expensive metal as the base. This practice was common in the 19th century, especially for coins that were intended for circulation in countries where silver was scarce or expensive.

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• early modern
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