(sold for $15.0)

1838, Egypt/Ottoman Empire, Mahmud II. Scarce Silver Qirsh Coin. VF-XF!

Reference: KM-183. Denominations: 5 Para Mint Year: 1838 AD (AH 1223 + Regnal Year 30)  Mint Place: Misr (today a part of Cairo City, Egypt) Condition: Minor deposits and light hairlines, otherwise VF-XF! Diameter: 20mm Weight: 1.33gm Material: Silver

Obverse: Mint formula and accession date (1223), regnal year (30) above. All within pelleted border.

Reverse: State seal (Tughra) of Sultan Mahmud II above value numeral (I). Honorific title in right field.

Mahmud II (Ottoman Turkish: Mahmud-i sani) (20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in   1839. He was born at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdul   Hamid I. His reign is notable mostly for the extensive legal and   military reforms he instituted. His mother was Valide Sultan (1808)   Naksh-i-Dil Haseki Sultan or Nakshidil Haseki Sultan, tr:Naksidil Sultan   . He is the ancestor of all succeeding Sultans.  

His most notable achievement was the abolition   of the Janissary corps in 1826 and the establishment of a modern Ottoman   Army, named the Nizam-i Cedid (meaning New Order in Ottoman Turkish).

Following the loss of the Ottoman Vilayet of   Greece after the Battle of Navarino against the combined   British-French-Russian fleets in 1827, Mahmud II gave top priority to   rebuilding a strong Ottoman naval force. The first steam ships of the   Ottoman Navy were acquired in 1828. In 1829 the 62x17x7 m   ship-of-the-line Mahmudiye, the world's largest warship for many years,   which was armed with 128 cannons on 3 decks, was built by the Imperial   Naval Arsenal on the Golden Horn in Istanbul.