BANK NOTES OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE WINS IBNS AWARD

The International Bank Note Society has awarded its Book of the Year honors for a book published in 2011 to Devlet-I Aliyye-I Osmaniyye (“Bank Notes of the Ottoman Empire”) by Mehmet Gaciroglu.

In presenting the award, the IBNS said, “Several reference works on the bank notes of the Ottoman Empire have been written in recent years, but the recently published, award-winning volume by Mehmet Gaciroglu is an impressive contribution to understanding paper money issues in the Ottoman Empire.”

For each denomination identified in the book, descriptions include the dates of issue, size of the note, the group of issue, signatures, quantity issued, seal used, serial number range and remarks.

Where bank notes are illustrated, watermark and signature varieties are adjacent to the bank note “which makes the identification of a banknote very easy for the reader.” Values for the notes are given in the grades Fine, VF, EF and UNC.

“Not just a catalogue, the book includes biographies of Sultans and descriptions of the seals used on the notes,” the IBNS said. “Towards the back of the book is a section with colour plates of specimens, essays, artist’s sketches, errors, endorsement stamps and cancellations. Included are the British Gallipoli notes, German legion issues, municipal currencies and local Hebrew, Armenian and Greek issues.”

To read the complete article, see: IBNS Names Its Book of the Year (www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=25804)

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