1687 Ottoman Empire Bronze Mangir Suleiman II

335-Year-Old Coin From The Ottoman Empire

This 1687-dated bronze Mangir coin from the reign of the Suleiman II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1687 to 1691, features not the political, pagan, and Christian imagery typical of most coinage, but rather the insignia of the sultan—whose Muslim faith prohibited using his image on his money. The ornate Arabic script is illegible to anyone raised on the Latin alphabet. Even the unit of currency, “Mangir,” sounds strange. Both sides feature the Sultan’s name and title in stylized Arabic script.

The Circuitous Rise Of Suleiman II

Suleiman’s path to the throne was a circuitous one. As the younger brother of Mehmed IV, Suleiman spent most of his life in various kafes, which were basically luxurious prisons for princes of the blood within the ruling family. These gilded cages were designed to ensure that a royal relative could not organize a rebellion. In fact, Mehmed IV himself became sultan at the age of 6 after his father was overthrown in a coup. Those steps didn’t stop a conspiracy organized by Mehmed’s elite household guards and a group of peasant mercenaries from deposing him years later in favor of Suleiman. For his part, Suleiman assumed that the delegation that approached him after his brother’s assassination had come to kill him, and he could not be tempted to leave the palace thus delaying the ceremony in which he was to be girded with the sword of the Caliphs!

Once in power, however, Suleiman was able to strengthen the Ottoman state through internal reforms and reconquests of territory. No one will ever know what more he might have accomplished because just four years into his reign he slipped into a coma on June 8, 1691. After a lifetime of living in the kafes and enjoying the pleasures of harem concubines, Suleiman suffered from a variety of diseases in the last two years of his life that left his whole body painful and swollen. He died two weeks later at the relatively young age of 49.

Coins That Reflect A Change In European Dominance

This is your chance to add Ottoman coinage to your collection. It was struck during a time when the Ottoman Empire was beginning to lose its economic and military dominance over Europe thanks to the Renaissance and the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Those factors combined with erratic Ottoman leadership rapidly strengthened and emboldened Austria, England, France, Holland, and the German states. These new European powers also benefitted greatly from trade with the Americas and India, adding an economic punch to their growing military prowess.

Each coin will come packaged in a deluxe folder with information about the Ottoman Empire and how these coins fit into the story of its rise—and fall. We have only a few of these scarce coins available and they will disappear quickly. So, act fast and grab your coin now!