While not exactly directly numismatic related I have been curious about these questions for a long time now. If any expert or knowledgeable people could lend their expertise on this matter it would be greatly appreciated. 1) After the fall of Constantinople in exactly what way did the turks depose of the Pre Ottoman money? Did they simply melt it or used it for trade to other nations? (I am assuming they disposed of it considering they might have been offended by the Christian symbols on the byzantium coinage-the gold coinage particularly) 2) What exactly was the racial makeup of Constantinople prior to it becoming Istanbul? Was their a southeastern European majority or was their a fair mix of all of the Byzantine Empire's subjects(North African, East European, Middle East, Egypt etc...) Thanks for any information provided