Akçe Of Murad II Obverse
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The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. It was also used in other states including the Anatolian Beyliks, the Aq Qoyunlu, and the Crimean Khanate. The basic meaning of the word is "silver" or "silver money", deriving from the Turkish word () and the diminutive suffix . Three s were equal to one . One-hundred and twenty 's equalled one . Later after 1687 the ' became the main unit of account, replacing the . In 1843, the silver ' was joined by the gold lira in a bimetallic system. Its weight fluctuated; one source estimates it between 1.15 and 1.18 grams. The name ' originally referred to a silver coin but later the meaning changed and it became a synonym for money. The mint in Novo Brdo, a fortified mining town in the Serbian Despotate rich with gold and silver mines, began to strike ' in 1441 when it was captured by the Ottoman forces for the first time. The Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul is said to have cost 59 million ''akçe'' when it was constructed in the 1550s. This amount is said to have equalled 700,000 ducats in gold (probably Venetian).


Debasement

Silver content and index in an Ottoman . Value compared to the gold ducat of Venice by years:


See also

* Akşa * Manghir


References


External links


Ottoman coins

September 1, 2013 - A huge treasure of 47,000 silver Akçe discovered in Goleşti, Romania


Coins of the Ottoman Empire Silver coins Medieval currencies Turkish words and phrases {{Ottoman-stub