Cahid Collection of Ottoman Specimen Notes 2025-05-14 Auction - 111 Price Results - Smalls Auctions in NSW
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Sydney, Nsw, Australia
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Cahid Collection of Ottoman Specimen Notes

The Ottoman Caliphate began with the capture of Adrianople in 1362 and ended in 1924 when Kemal Atatürk abolished it in favour of a secular republic. The Sultan ruled over the Empire which at its peak spanned Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa but steadily declined due to territorial losses and its ill-fated alliance with Germany in World War I. During the war, Ottoman banknotes were backed by German Treasury Bills and printed by the German firm Giesecke & Devrient. These emergency notes, printed on poor-quality paper, circulated until 1927 with few surviving in high-grade condition. In 2016, a remarkable archive of lightly cancelled specimen notes surfaced in Australia, which has since been determined were once owned by Huseyin Cahid, Vice-President of the Ottoman Parliament. Housed in a leather-bound album, the collection mirrors the circulation issues that bore Cahid’s signature with a printed breakdown of the notes printed for each denomination. The list reveals that only 40 examples of the high-denomination 50,000 Livre were printed and in today's terms each would now have a gold equivalent value of USD $34 million. Most surviving high-value notes are found in extremely poor condition, making this archive the only known repository of high-grade notes. The collection offers a unapparelled glimpse into the pristine artistry and history of Ottoman currency and presents a rare opportunity for collectors.