The Gold Coins of the Ottoman Empire

The Gold Coins of the Ottoman Empire

Gold is now found scattered all over the world, but in ancient times it was produced only in following countries of: Egypt, Anatolia, Greece, Transylvania, Spain, Arabia and India. 

The first gold coins appeared in Lycia, which is located in the southwestern part of Anatolia. 

Gold is a soft metal and therefore easy to handle and can be moulded into various shapes, but in order to be used as a coin/currency, Gold needs to be added together into other substances to be hard enough to endure excessive handling.

An ounce of gold can be stretched into a thin wire that extends for a mile.  This malleability makes the metal an ideal resource for jewelry and gold dust mixed with other materials was often used in calligraphy on book covers and other kinds of decoration. 

Now that I have briefly explained the first usage of Gold; I would like to focus the remainder of my essay today on the currency used during the 'Ottoman Empire'.  This essay is a continuation of my research into the currency usages through-out mankind.  

Other writings I have posted are listed below:

Executive Order Number 111110

http://www.goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/executive-order-number-11110.html

Bitcoin In The Future

http://www.goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/bitcoin-in-future.html

FIAT Money In Circulation

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/fiat-money-in-circulation.html

Denarius Currency

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/denarius-currency.html

United States Notes

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/the-united-states-notes.html

Now, today's essay.  

With the conquest of Anatolia and the eventual expansion into Europe, the Ottoman Turks took over systems for mining and acquiring Gold that were already in place for centuries.  These locations were in Anatolia and the Balkans, in Eastern Europe.  

Monetary exchange was based only on coins, since paper money was not introduced yet.  This meant that Gold and Silver were important commodities and carefully protected by the Turks.  

Also, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Egypt, most of the Gold and Silver mining already in existent in the world, fell into the hands of this Empire.  Gold came to be in very short supply in Europe some time beginning in 1520, as most of the Gold mined, ended in the a Ottoman Treasury. 

The official currency of the Ottoman Empire was the 'Silver Akce' that can be traced back to Osman Bey, who was the person that created this Empire, and the 'name-giver' since, Ottoman is English for Osmanli.  He reigned from 1299 to 1324.  

The Silver Akce continued to be used until the 15th century when the first Ottoman Gold Coin appeared during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1478.  As the dates can be a witness, the Gold Coins used by the Ottoman Empire is after the conquest of the Empire of the 'Gold Mined' territories, joining the Empire.   

'Gold Treasuries' were set up in cities of Diyarbakır, Van and Bahdat with considerable care paid to the sources of Gold and Silver and careful oversight was undertaken to ensure that the coins were not debased.  Inspectors were regularly sent from the capital city of Constantinople to see that everything was in order and proper care given to the making of the Gold Coin Currency.  

Throughout much of the first half of the Empire, which was from 1480 to 1675, the Ottoman Gold Coins competed with foreign currencies such as Venetian Gold pieces, Egyptian Pare and Spanish Coins.

The 18th century had been a period of instability for the Ottoman Turks, as the currency culminating around the middle of the century saw the closure of 'Gold Treasuries'.  

The decline of the Gold Coins of the Empire posed serious challenges to the administration.  The reliance on foreign coins had serious political implications, as without control over the currency, its control over the economy diminished considerably. Moreover, the devaluation of its own currency saw the beginning of the decline of this Empire.  

Over time and due to numerous wars the Ottoman Empire was engaged in, the Ottoman Turks became unable to meet its financial obligations and was forced to debase its currency even further. 

The monetary system of the 'Once Mighty' Empire, directly correlates to the collapse of this Empire.  Once the devaluation of the Gold Coins started, and the rising debts could not be sufficiently paid, collapse was only evident.   

The phrase 'All things must come to an end' comes to my mind, the concept of 'devaluation of a currency' is not particularly a smart move by the Empire, but it is easier to make this statement now, a few centuries after the beginning of the collapse.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben here