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1 Livre
| Issuer | Ottoman Public Debt Administration (Düyun-u Umumiye) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Printer | Giesecke & Devrient, Leipzig, Germany |
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| Obverse description | The note is framed by an ornate brown guilloche border with floral corner motifs. The imperial toughra of Sultan Mehmed V is positioned at upper centre, flanked by the denomination numeral "1" in green on both left and right. Ottoman script inscriptions appear across the centre field, including the date AH 1331, with the printer's imprint "Giesecke & Devrient" at the lower left margin. Serial number prefixed "A" appears twice in red at lower centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in reddish-brown on plain paper, dominated by a large central cartouche with an elaborate scalloped frame enclosing multiple lines of Ottoman script text setting out the note's legal tender conditions. The surrounding field carries a repeating guilloche rosette pattern, and a single manuscript signature appears beneath the central text block. |
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| Comments |
The Düyun-u Umumiye — the Ottoman Public Debt Administration — was itself a product of the empire's 1881 fiscal humiliation, established under European creditor control after the Ottomans defaulted on their external debt. That this same body was issuing emergency currency by 1915 tells you something about how badly the war had already disrupted normal monetary channels within the first year of Ottoman involvement.
Giesecke & Devrient in Leipzig printed the series, which creates an immediate logistical curiosity: Germany was an Ottoman ally, and the notes had to travel from Saxony to Constantinople through an active wartime supply corridor. Delivery was not guaranteed.