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

Reality of Amero

Reality of Amero

‘Amero’ is a proposed name for the future North American Currency, which would replace the ‘Canadian Lonnie’,  ‘American Dollar’, and ‘Mexican peso. 

This proposal is in existence and the authorities consistently meet to discuss the implementation of the ‘Amero’, as it is a way for the United States, Canada, and Mexico to collaborate on issues such as:

Customs,

Environmental and safety regulations,

Narcotics smuggling, and

Terrorism.

Implementation of the ‘Amero’ would involve the three countries named above to give up their current currency.  The new currency is modeled on the European Union Currency (Euro), and it is argued to be a natural extension of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP).

Also, another major benefit stated of the ‘Amero’ is believed that it will eventually increase trade through reduced complication for transactions of currency exchange rates between the three countries, as this would be eliminated.

The biggest drawbacks of changing over to the Amero would that the 'Federal Reserve' of USA will need to give up control of the 'money supply'.  The FED of the United States would be restricted on monetary policy.  The changes would:

Interest Rates and "money printing" would now be under the control of three countries rather than one,

The USA would no longer stand alone in its trade negotiations with other countries of the world, and

The USA would be subject to the rules of the neighboring two countries which could reduce its economic power.  

For now, the ‘Amero’ is just an idea that has been kicked around and talked about with no real plans for implementation, yet.  

We will continue to monitor the developments regarding the 'Amero'. 

Thank you, 

Ben

Red $50 Bank Note

Red $50 Bank Note

The $50 bank note is red in colour, and introduced into circulation on March 26, 2012.  

The note is printed on polymer paper, which means the note is more plastic than paper.  This means that the note is more durable than the cotton-based paper it has replaced.  

The main reason by the Federal Government in implementing the new Canadian bank note is the 'Security' features.  A few of the security features are:

- the same clear windows and metallic images that are seen on the front are seen on the reverse,

- design incorporates a special tactile feature, similar to Braille Dots, for the blind, indicating the denomination of the bank note.  

          Canadian $50

The front of the note:

The front of the note features a handsome portrait of Mr William Lyon Mackenzie King, who was the Prime Minister from 1921 - 1948. 

The reserve of the note:

The reverse of the note shows the Canadian Coast Guard Ship, named 'Amundsen', which is a Research Icebreaker Ship. 

          The back

I was finally able to get my hands on a new/old $50 Canadian Bank Note, at the same time, and took the below two pictures: 

Also, I have written about $5, $10, $20 and $100 Canadian Bank Notes, please look for these blogs below:

$5 Canadian Note

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/01/5-canadian-note.html

New Purple $10 Canadian Note

http://goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/01/new-purple-10-canadian-note.html

$20 Canadian Currency

http://goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/01/20-canadian-currency.html

Big Brown $100 Bill

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/01/big-brown-100-bill-if-you-are-following.html

I have finally been able to complete my 'series' of trying to picture each of the new/old notes together. 

I will now try to get my hands on a $1,000 Bank Note.  I hear they are in circulation, however to this date, I have never been able to find one.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Denarius Currency

Denarius Currency

Has anyone ever wondered what currency the 'Roman empire' used?

I researched this topic while completing couple of other blogs of mine titled:

'Fiat Money in Circulation'.  

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

&

'Bitcoin in the Future'

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

I have attached a link of the blogs for you to read, if the link does not work, please copy/paste to the address bar.  

Now, back to today's topic. 

It is important to understand the similarities of our monetary system in use today, with that of the 'mighty' Empire, and the failures associated with this system when in use by the Roman Empire and not learning from the past errors.  

The Roman Empire did not utilize a 'paper' currency.  

The currency in use was actual 'silver' commodity, stamped with the Emperors bust, and shaped into the size of our current 1 dollar coinage.  

The Empire within all of its vast territories used one of the first examples of 'true' debasement of a currency.  

This currency was called 'Denarius'. 

The Denarius, when first utilized was essentially 100% pure silver.  What this means is that, the citizens would carry around with them 'silver coins' to use as 'barter' and/or money in exchange of purchasing an item from another individual.  

The pure silver coinage called Denarius began circulating at the beginning of the first century A.D. 

This changed for the worst soon after this date.  

By the year 54 A.D., the Roman Emperor Nero ordered that the Denarius not be a full silver coinage.  The Denarius was now approximately 94% silver and the remainder made-up of other material.  

By around the year 100 A.D., the Denarius coinages silver content was down to 85%.

All other Emperors after Nero, bought the idea of 'devaluing their currency' in order to pay the bills of the Empire, keep the silver for their own usage and increase their own wealth.  

By the year 218, the Denarius coinages silver content was down to 43%. 

By the year 244, the Denarius coinages silver content was taken down to .05, by the Emperor Philip.  

The monetary system of the 'Once Mighty' Empire, directly correlates to the collapse of the city of Rome and and the Roman Empire.  The Denarius coinages silver content was only 0.02%, at the collapse date of the year 410, which was also the date of 'Sacking of the city of Rome'.  After this date, no person accepted the Denarius, as it did not store a value.  

The phrase 'All things must come to an end' comes to my mind, however I hope the 'Central Banks' of each country, particularly 'the once mighty' USA studies the 'devaluation of a currency' and the consequences attached to this.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Fiat Money in Circulation

Fiat Money in Circulation

I wanted to write about our current 'Money in Circulation' as it is a relatively important topic, which is seldom analyzed by citizens.  

'Fiat' money is money/currency in circulation through out the world, without an intrinsic value attached to the money/currency.  

The term originates from Latin Language to mean 'Let it become' or 'Let it be done'.  

What is Money? 

It is a simply what people use as a medium of exchange or a unit of account in a transaction.

The alternative to Fiat money is commodity currency, which is money/currency that has some sort of intrinsic value already.  

Once upon a time all currencies were backed by some kind of a commodity like 'Gold', 'Silver' or another value able item.  

Fiat money is valuable for no other reason than that the Federal Government saying that it is.  Paper money with no 'Commodity Backed' is an example of Fiat Money.  

We currently are using this form of currency in this county.  

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben

Big Brown $100 Bill

Big Brown $100 Bill

If you are following this blog, and I sure hope you are, I wrote about the 'new' currency being introduced.  

I have attached the links below, for your reading pleasure.  If the link does not work, please copy/paste to the address bar. 

          New Note on Top

$5 Canadian Note

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/01/5-canadian-note.html?m=0

Purple $10 Canadian Note

http://goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/01/new-purple-10-canadian-note.html?m=0

$20 Canadian Currency

http://goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/01/20-canadian-currency.html?m=0

Today, I will write about the $100 dollar Canadian note, since it was the first time I was able to get in my hands an 'old' and 'new' version of the bank note, at the same time.  I have taken pictures of the front/back of the note.  

The Canadian $100 note is currently the highest valued and least circulated of the five banknotes. 

The 5 notes are:

$5,

$10,

$20,

$50, &

$100. 

The current version of the $100 note was introduced into circulation in November 2011. 

          New Note on Top

This note is made of a durable polymer instead of the traditional paper notes.  

The note is brown in colour. 

The front design:

The front of the bank note features former Prime Minister, Sir Robert Borden

The back design:

The back of the bank note shows the discovery of 'insulin'.

The main reason for the 'new' currency is the security feature of having two transparent windows; which make the notes difficult to forge.  

Of the two windows, the first extends from the top to the bottom of the note and has holographic image.  The other window is in the shape of a maple leaf. 

Have you seen this 'new' currency yet?

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

$5 Canadian Note

$5 Canadian Note

I wrote about the $20 Canadian Note and included pictures of the new / old currency in circulation today in Canada; please look for this article, in my 'history' list, of this blog, as it is titled '$20 Canadian Currency".  

Today, for the first time, I came by a brand new $5 Canadian Note, and I took pictures of this.  I  would like to write about who and/or what is on the front and back of the currency.  

Front side of the note:

There is a well drawn portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who was the Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. 

Reverse side of the note:

There is a drawing of Mobile Servicing System (MSS), which is a robotic system and equipment on the International Space Station (ISS).  The 'Arm' moves equipment and supplies around the station, supports astronauts working in space, and services instruments. 

The MSS was designed and manufactured by MDA Space Missions for the Canadian Space Agency, and this is Canada's contribution to the space expeditions. 

Also, remember that the old notes will be taken out of circulation, therefore, put a few away for memory sake. 

Gracia for reading, 

Ben