When these coins were originally minted, the designers created the Turkey Gold 100 Kurush Coins with historical significance and artsy designs at the forefront of their minds. It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that these rare Imperial coins from the Ottoman Empire are incredibly popular and maintain historical significance and gold value to this very day. Anyone looking to buy a gold coin from the Middle East knows that these coins are some of the best available today.
Background & History: Turkey Gold 100 Kurush Coins
These exciting gold coins remind the world of the Ottoman Empire and when they ruled with an iron fist during their glory days. The Ottoman Empire was around for a number of centuries during an age were Muslims with the leaders of a world superpower and an incredible Empire bigger than anything the Middle East or Europe had ever seen.
During its largest point in history, the Ottoman Empire stretched from North Central Africa, and it went all away through Libya, and made its way to Egypt. It also covered the wide majority of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. And it also made up the Balkans, Cyprus, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, and Iraq, and it even went as far as Austria up to the Vienna gates before it finally came to a halt. But the Empire fell just like any other when they were forced to break up because they fought on the wrong side during World War I, although it was still made up of the Middle East and Turkey, which is still a large empire, during its final days when it was called the “sick old man of Europe.”
The Turkish people have been minting gold coins for roughly 5000 years. Originally their coins were struck during ancient times in the Kingdom of Lydia at Sardis, which was the very wealthy capital at the time. The coins were minted in the Greek style and date all the way back to the seven century BC, which means Turkey has been minting gold coins for over 2500 years at a minimum. Although there is a long connection between Turkey and finding gold within their territory, no one should be surprised that they have minted many gold coins and had many denominations of these coins throughout the years.
They are most well known for their gold coins that include:
- Altin
- Cifte
- Dort
- Lire
- Luk
- Mahbub
- Piastres
- Serifi
- Sultani
- Tek
- Yarim
All of these coins are inscribed using beautiful calligraphy. They were also produced in the Ottoman Empire during the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century, when the Empire was nearing its end. The majority of these coins were minted while Sultan Abdul Hamid II was reigning ruler.
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The overall weight of the Turkey Gold 100 Kurush coin is 7.2160 g, and it contains a total of .2127 ounces of gold. They are popular coins among investors and collectors alike. Although many investors ignore gold coins from Turkey because of the earlier script on these Turkish coins, the modern coins are a lot harder to identify. This means coin collectors and Turkey can buy inexpensive coins and pass them off as rare and valuable artifacts, so investors and collectors need to remain aware.
Physical Characteristics: Turkey Gold 100 Kurush Coins
There is only one denomination to the Turkey Gold 100 Kurush coins and they are very similar to the Belgian, Swiss, and French 20 Franc but they have a higher gold content.
The Design
On the front side of the coin, also known as the obverse side, you’ll see a depiction of a symbol of the Turkish Ottoman Empire Sultanate called a Toughra. The picture of the symbol is located in the center of a circle of sprigs and stars.
On the back side, also known as the reverse side, you’ll notice inscriptions that are topped by a single star and wreaths on the bottom. The Constantinople Mint struck these coins for 1000 years and struck gold Byzants for the Byzantine Empire before the Ottomans conquered and took over and made it their own.
The Specifications
The design specifications and dimensions include:
- 2160 g of mass
- 3 mm in diameter
- 4 mm of thickness
- 2127 Troy ounces of gold content
- 67% pure gold
Pricing the Turkey Gold 100 Kurush Coins
In modern-day Turkey, these coins are very much considered legal tender, even though the Ottoman Empire is basically just an afterthought in the annals of history. It would be strange to spend these coins in Turkey because the face value of them is unknown since the Turkish currently use the lira as their denomination of record. And since the coin has more than a fifth of an ounce of gold, you’d receive much more for the gold content as opposed to any potential money you’d get for face value.
In fact, the gold content alone is worth more than $250 according to the gold spot price. So the intrinsic value possesses much greater worth on the world market based on the spot price. Because of the historical nature of these coins, you’ll also receive a minor premium because they date back all the way to the final days of the Ottoman Empire.
It’s because of the intrinsic value that make these gold coins such a hot commodity. And let’s not forget about the fact that these coins are a part of history, so many people look at them as a commemorative or collector’s investment. But the small premium comes from the Constantinople Mint pressing and circulating these coins over a century ago, but the overall market value is going to depend heavily on the day-to-day price action of gold prices, which trades six days a week in Chicago, New York, Hong Kong, and London as well as other commodity exchanges and financial centers around the world. To find out the current spot price of gold, you can easily do a search on the Internet using your favorite search engine.
Can I Own the Turkey Gold 100 Kurush Coins in a Gold IRA Account?
These historical and exotic artifacts present grandeur from a bygone error. This should make you stop and think if you know about the specific rules and regulations and permissions set forth by the IRS regarding precious metals IRA accounts. They are the sole deciders as to whether or not a coin or bar receives inclusion in a precious metals IRA. And it’s their decision to choose whether or not a bullion coin candidate meets the primary factors including the gold purity minimum and whether or not it contains any collector’s value.
At the end of the day, the IRS will not permit the Turkey Gold 100 Kurush coins for purchase in a precious metals IRA. Why? They only accept coins with .995% gold purity into these accounts. The Kurush coin only contains a gold purity in the amount of .9167, which automatically invalidates it from inclusion. Read more about the approved metals on this page.
Although there is a collectability factor involved, the premium isn’t too high so that wouldn’t have been an issue otherwise. It’s the fact that the coin itself isn’t pure enough which prevents it from ever becoming eligible for inclusion in a precious metals IRA portfolio. These coins are historic, beautiful, and loved around the world. Feel free to purchase them in Europe or the Middle East or on the Internet if you want to own them for their collectible value and exciting gold content.