BOOK REVIEW: OTTOMAN EMPIRE COINS 1687 - 1839

We mentioned last week the publication of Osmanlý Ýmparatorluðu Madeni Paralarý - Ottoman Empire Coins 1687 - 1839 (AH 1099 - 1255) by Kaan Uslu, M. Fatih Beyazit, and Tuncay Kara. This work is the second in a series of studies on Ottoman coins in which the authors are working back in history; volume 1 of the series covered the coinage of the last six sultans of the Ottoman Empire and the years 1839 to 1918 (AH 1255 to 1336).

For those of us interested in the coinage of the Ottoman Empire, these books are a wonderful asset. For years Ottoman coinage references were difficult to obtain and sparse in the details of the coins. Now, for a reasonable price, you can have a full color, bilingual Turkish-English reference that covers all Ottoman coins and their details for the period of the book. The books are organized chronologically by sultan, then alphabetically by mints. All known coins for each mint are discussed, with full color pictures for nearly all the coins. The arabic spelling of each mint is included to allow the collector to easily identify where the coin originated.

The entry for each coin includes a transliteration of each face of the coin, the weight and diameter, date, engraver marks (as applicable), regnal year, rarity, as well as the KM and OC number (the OC number is from the database hosted at the authors' web site www.ottomancoins.com). To help the collector learn to better identify Ottoman coins the authors have provided multicolor line drawings of key coins with transliterations of the arabic scripts. Adding to the utility of the books is their convenient size. At roughly 9" x 6" octavo size, they easily fit inside a small bag and can be taken along to your next coin show.

To make these books available to a wider audience, they are available from the authors on eBay. As of this writing, volume 1 is $32 and volume 2 is $52. Shipping is listed at $9.50 on each auction, but the authors did combine shipping costs when I purchased my copies.

If you are looking for another Ottoman reference for your library, or you are looking for your first, you can't go wrong with these wonderful books. Volume 2 was apparently a limited run of 500, so don't delay!

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NEW BOOK: OTTOMAN EMPIRE COINS 1687-1839 (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n09a02.html)

I have volumes 1 and 2 of Atom's books and #3 is on the way. Atom's approach was from the first years of the Ottomans while Uslu et al worked backwards. Atom's books are also lovely books, but they are quarto and much heavier. Both series are printed on heavy paper, just that there is so much more in the bigger books.

V1 of Atom's books goes from Osman I through Selim I, and V2 is only Suleyman the Magnificent's coins. Atom's books also have the pictures of the coins enlarged i.e., not at actual size, so they show more detail but you need that extra step of measuring the coin to see if it is what you think it is.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NEW BOOK: HISTORY OF OTTOMAN COINS (VOLUME II) BY DAMALI (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n26a04.html)

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