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20 Para - Mahmud II type D/E
| Issuer | Regency of Tripoli |
|---|---|
| Year | 1808 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Para (0.5) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field displays a bold multi-line Arabic inscription recording the mint and Hijri date, reading 'Struck in Tripoli West 1223,' arranged in stacked calligraphic lines typical of Ottoman provincial hammered issues. The numeral 1223, corresponding to the AH year of Sultan Mahmud II's accession, appears prominently in the lower portion of the legend. A continuous toothed or beaded border encircles the entire design, matching the obverse treatment and giving the coin a uniform, well-defined rim. The flat, unadorned field emphasizes the centrality of the mint inscription as the primary design element. The execution is characteristic of the Tripoli mint's hammered coinage under Ottoman suzerainty. |
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| Mintage | 1223 (1808) 22 - ٢٢//١٢٢٣ - 1223 (1808) 23 - ٢٣//١٢٢٣ - |
| Additional information |
Tripoli's regency coinage of this period occupies an awkward administrative position: nominally Ottoman issues struck in the name of Mahmud II, but produced locally by the Karamanli dynasty that had governed the province with near-total autonomy since 1711. The Karamanlis ran Tripoli essentially as a private fiefdom, funding themselves partly through licensed piracy against European shipping — a practice the nascent United States had already gone to war over in 1801.
Billon alloy and local die-cutting give these pieces considerable variation in silver content and strike quality from one specimen to the next.