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Larin - Selim II
| Issuer | Ottoman Empire - Basra Eyalet |
|---|---|
| Year | 1566 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Larin |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Hairpin-form larin produced by folding a thin silver wire or rod around a şahi-type die. The obverse impression derives from a circular şahi coin die, with only fragmentary Arabic legends visible in the field; the extreme rarity of known specimens renders a complete transcription impossible. The die impression is shallow and partially off-center, characteristic of this primitive striking technique. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | [...] ٩٧۴ (Translation: [...] 974) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The larin — a wire-bent silver piece folded roughly in half — was never an Ottoman invention but an absorbed monetary form the empire encountered through trade in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean networks. Basra, as the empire's primary outlet to that commerce after its conquest in 1546, became a natural point of local larin production. Selim II's accession in 1566 following Suleiman's death during the siege of Szigetvár likely accounts for the dating, with minting authorities updating the sultan's name on issues already in regional circulation.
The KM#Unlisted status reflects how poorly documented provincial Gulf coinage remains — Basra larins surface in hoards from the Malabar Coast to the Omani interior, yet Western reference catalogues have never adequately mapped them.