Coins of the Ottoman Empire
One of the most mysterious and unknown countries today is Turkey. The first mention of the territory of ancient Turkey dates back to the seventh millennium BC. If we consider the present, it is of course the famous resorts, luxury hotels, and of course the warm sea and the hot sun. If you are going to travel to Turkey, you will see a lot of sights and monuments of history and culture of this state, and you will surely stay under wonderful impressions. But let’s consider the territory of Turkey, when it was part of the Ottoman Empire.
With the formation of the Ottoman Empire, there was a need to create a new monetary system, so Osman Ghazi, who headed the Ottoman dynasty, issued the first silver coin, which was called “Akcha”. Due to the fact that the great Ottoman Empire was very powerful, the monetary value of the first coin that was issued did not fall until the fifteenth century. The name of the ruling emperor was placed on the coin, as well as a small prayer, which, according to Osman Ghazi’s thoughts, was supposed to reliably protect him and the territory of the empire from possible enemies. I would like to note that there are no long prayer sayings on the coins of the Ottoman Empire. Everything was rather short and concise, but it carried a rather large meaning.
A little time later, when the firstborn of the Ottoman empire was replaced by his heir, Orhan Ghazi, the name of the mint, which issued some specific coin, was placed on the coins. In the same period, the Ottoman Empire entered the territory of European states, and a copper coin called “mangyr” began to be minted. They were not very valuable, and served only as a barter, that is, they were trifles of acchi. Coins of this type are quite interesting in their performance. This is primarily due to the fact that the images on them are very rich in various patterns, ornaments and all sorts of interweaving. Thus, the coin is of great interest for coin collectors and collectors around the world.
After in the fourteenth century the Ottoman Empire began to make quite large and successful campaigns on the territory of a number of European countries, as well as in Anatolia, then the conquered lands became quite a lot. One after another, various feudal lords began to join the great Ottoman Empire, in order to improve their status and position. In this regard, the borders of the Ottoman Empire continued to expand at an enormous speed and by the end of the fourteenth century reached the Euphrates River from the east, and the Danube River from the west.
With the sharp increase in the status of the state, the need arose to issue additional metallic banknotes. So from the fifteenth century a coin of gold passes into circulation, which somewhat reduced the cost of a silver coin, the acchi. On the new coin was placed the dictum of the Sultan, telling that he is the ruler of all the seas and lands. The coin is perfectly executed, and on it, as well as on the mangyr, various patterns were depicted, which only increases its value among all collectors.
