5 Livres

The Imperial Ottoman Bank — nominally a joint Anglo-French venture chartered in Constantinople — continued issuing notes through 1918 even as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing militarily on multiple fronts. This 5 Livres belongs to the final wartime series, issued under conditions of severe monetary stress: Ottoman currency had been inflating sharply since 1914, and public confidence in paper had eroded badly by the time these notes entered circulation.

The bank's dual nature — private European capital operating as a de facto central bank — made its notes politically awkward in the post-war partition period. Many were withdrawn rapidly after 1918 and destroyed, which affects surviving quantities today.