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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;willieboyd2, post: 2295370, member: 4910&quot;]The United States plans to issue commemorative coins in 2016 to honor writer Mark Twain.</p><p>The coins planned are a silver dollar and a five-dollar gold coin.</p><p>United States (US) Mint photographs:</p><p><a href="http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?action=photo#MarkTwain" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?action=photo#MarkTwain" rel="nofollow">http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?action=photo#MarkTwain</a></p><p><br /></p><p>In 1867 Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) joined a ship excursion to Europe and the Middle East and published a very popular book about his travels, <i>The Innocents Abroad</i>, in 1869.</p><p>He made several trips to Europe and published another travel book, <i>A Tramp Abroad</i>, in 1880.</p><p><br /></p><p>In <i>A Tramp Abroad</i>, he writes about an incident which occurred during his 1867 trip when he accidently gave a blind beggar a gold coin instead of a copper coin and his attempts to retrieve the gold coin.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>The episode with the showman reminds me of a dark chapter in my history. I once robbed an aged and blind beggar-woman of four dollars—in a church. It happened this way. When I was out with the Innocents Abroad, the ship stopped in the Russian port of Odessa and I went ashore, with others, to view the town. I got separated from the rest, and wandered about alone, until late in the afternoon, when I entered a Greek church to see what it was like. When I was ready to leave, I observed two wrinkled old women standing stiffly upright against the inner wall, near the door, with their brown palms open to receive alms. I contributed to the nearer one, and passed out.</p><p><br /></p><p>I had gone fifty yards, perhaps, when it occurred to me that I must remain ashore all night, as I had heard that the ship&#039;s business would carry her away at four o&#039;clock and keep her away until morning. It was a little after four now. I had come ashore with only two pieces of money, both about the same size, but differing largely in value — one was a French gold piece worth four dollars, the other a Turkish coin worth two cents and a half. With a sudden and horrified misgiving, I put my hand in my pocket, now, and sure enough, I fetched out that Turkish penny!</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>The &quot;French gold piece worth four dollars&quot; had to be a French 20 Franc coin, commonly called a &quot;Napoleon&quot;, as it had a portrait of the French king Napoleon III on it.</p><p>It was 21mm in diameter and weighed around 6.40gm.</p><p>Napoleons circulated widely as trade coins in the Middle East at the time.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.brianrxm.com/posts/post_france_franc20_1863.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>France gold 20 Francs 1863 &quot;Napoleon&quot; 21mm</p><p><br /></p><p>The &quot;Turkish penny&quot;, &quot;Turkish coin worth two cents and a half&quot;, &quot;both about the same size&quot;, is harder to identify.</p><p><br /></p><p>Turkey, or the Ottoman Empire then, had a monetary system based on the Piastre or Qirsh which was worth around US five cents. A Piastre was divided into 40 Paras.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>The Innocents Abroad</i> mentions the worth of a Piastre in this description of a guide:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>...he called for remuneration -- said he hoped the gentlemen would give him a trifle in the way of a few piastres (equivalent to a few five cent pieces).</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>A Turkish coin worth 2-1/2 cents would be a 20 Para coin worth one-half of a Piastre.</p><p>Turkey made two types of 20 Para coin then, a very small silver coin (14mm) and a large copper coin (32mm).</p><p>Neither coin would be close in size to the 21mm French gold coin.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.brianrxm.com/posts/post_turkey_para20_1277_silver.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Turkey silver 20 Para AH 1277 Abdul Aziz regnal year 2 (1862) 14mm</p><p>This coin is smaller than the US three-cent coin.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.brianrxm.com/posts/post_turkey_para20_1277.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Turkey copper 20 Para AH 1277 Abdul Aziz regnal year 4 (1864) 32mm</p><p>This coin is the size of a British Penny and close in size to a US Large Cent.</p><p><br /></p><p>Turkey did make a 23mm copper 5 Para coin which was close in size to the 21mm Napoleon and was worth around one-half of a US cent.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.brianrxm.com/posts/post_turkey_para05_1277.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Turkey copper 5 Para AH 1277 Abdul Aziz regnal year 4 (1864) 23mm</p><p><br /></p><p>Could Mark Twain&#039;s recollection of the &quot;Turkish penny&quot; have been a 5 Para coin?</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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