50 Kurush

This note belongs to the sixth Ottoman paper money series, issued under Sultan Abdülhamid II shortly after his accession following the deposition of Murad V — a period of acute fiscal stress compounded by the Russo-Turkish War looming on the horizon. The Ottoman treasury was effectively insolvent, and these kaime notes circulated at a steep discount against their face value, as they had done intermittently since the first paper issues of the 1840s.

The series was printed domestically, and the production quality reflects that. Inks on surviving examples frequently show uneven impression, and the paper itself was sourced under wartime supply constraints.