Abdulhamid II 20 Kurush

This 20 Kurush gold coin from Abdulhamid II's reign was struck during the Ottoman Empire's fraught adoption of the gold standard, a reform that aimed to curb rampant inflation by linking the currency to actual gold reserves.

At 6.6 grams of 22-karat gold, it featured the sultan's distinctive tughra on the obverse, a calligraphic emblem that doubled as a signature and a shield against counterfeits. The reverse showed the denomination and year in both Arabic and Turkish scripts, reflecting the empire's linguistic diversity. Mintage figures are murky; records from that era often vanished in bureaucratic reshuffles.

For three decades, I've turned these coins over in my hands, noting how their edges wear smooth from circulation. The gold standard brought stability, but it didn't last long under the empire's pressures. Sometimes, I wonder if the sultan's reforms were just gilded promises.