My cousin was renovating her house and found a stack of these up in attic....yes, actually under a loose floor board. Anyone know what it is, where it came from, and what year? Many thanks
This is a 10 Piastres from Ottoman Turkey (pre-1923).The date in Arabic numerals is AH1334,Year 27. Aidan.
Ottoman Empire 10 pounds Issued by law of March 28 AH1334 (1918), 7th order. The common variety lists for $75 in VG in my 3rd edition of Pick's, so it looks like even the the stains and missing parts, retail would probably be about $15-20, and you would have little difficlty selling them for $5-10 apiece.
Thanks to both of you. This is only the top of the stack and not the best example. My cousin will be thrilled. She is having me sell them, and offered a percentage of the sales. I'm thinking one of the better examples of these will be payment enough I guess that leaves one last question....how the heck did a stack of these get under the attic floor board of a house out in the middle of nowhere Massachusetts? Returning WWI Vet or refugee perhaps? If it didn't violate every civil rights law on the books, coins and bills that recorded their own history would be kinda cool, numismatically speaking
I live in an old house...now you have me thinking of ripping up floorboards guess I better not since I'm renting. Cool find!
Welllll...this was found in the attic....so if your real quiet and check for loose boards up there......maybe
Since they date from near the end of the war, and Attaturk was starting his revolution about then, I would say that they were probably leftovers (unexchangeable/unredeemable after the revolution) from the wealth of a Turkish immigrant/refugee shortly after WWI. Now that's definately unusual.
