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20 Kuruş
| Issuer | Ottoman Treasury (Hazine-i Celile) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1858 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Kuruş |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is laid out in a vertical format with an ornate central cartouche enclosing multi-line Ottoman calligraphic script in flowing naskh style, set against a lightly tooled background with scrollwork border elements at the corners and along the frame. The overall composition is printed in dark olive-brown tones on aged paper, with decorative rosette motifs in each corner. The denomination and treasury authority are inscribed within the central panel in Arabic script. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a plain, lightly printed background with a faint floral and foliate underprint pattern visible across the field, consisting of symmetrical branch and leaf vignettes rendered in pale brown ink. A prominent circular black wax or embossed seal is affixed toward the lower centre of the note, bearing an official Ottoman tughra or cipher. The remainder of the surface is largely unprinted, consistent with Ottoman kaime issues of this period. |
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| Comments |
The Hazine-i Celile notes of 1858 belong to the Ottoman Empire's earliest sustained experiment with paper currency, driven largely by the financial strain of the Crimean War and subsequent British and French loans that left Istanbul's treasury perpetually overextended. These small-denomination treasury bills — kaime — were deeply unpopular; the Ottoman public had centuries of familiarity with silver coinage and treated paper issues with open suspicion, often exchanging them at steep discounts to face value.
The sole security feature, a seal impression, was considered woefully inadequate even at the time, and counterfeiting was a documented problem across the kaime series.