Ottoman Empire. Abdul Mejid with Muhammad al-Sadiq Bey Pattern (?) 5 Piastres AH 1272 (1855/6) AU Details (Surface Hairlines) NGC, "Tunus" mint (in Tunisia), KM-Unl. (cf. KM121 for type), Pere-Unl. Extremely unusual to say the least, the fact that a pattern for this year and denomination is listed in neither the SCWC or Pere at first suggesting a misattribution, until the coin is inspected closer. Faint, but nonetheless un-dismissable evidence of an undertype exists, in the present cataloger's opinion perhaps a Dutch daalder, which appears to both have been cut-down--an HOL on the reverse marked close to the rim--canceled with numerous hatches, and essentially entirely remade. This fact seems to suggest against a pattern produced either at Paris or Heaton, the usual locations where high quality standards were in place, thought the level of effort necessary to transform the old planchet is simply astonishing. Potentially unique, particularly as a possible pattern produced locally in Tunus.

HID99912102018