Ottoman banknotes, war medals go under hammer

ISTANBUL

Coins, war medals and banknotes, printed by Enver Paşa (below) will be among the most attractive pieces in the auction to be held on Nov 24. AA photo

Many artifacts, such as banknotes printed by Enver Paşa during the Tanzimat Reform Era and medals from the War of Independence, will be auctioned in Istanbul, Nov. 24.

Coins and banknotes from the Ottoman and Republic era, as well as photography collections will be auctioned, said Pera Mezat Müzayedecilik General Coordinator Samet Tekin. He said the most important pieces in the auction would be a War of Independence medal with white ribbon.

He said the medal has the wet signature of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the identity of to whom it belonged and the medal’s envelop, adding medals with white ribbons were given to the contributors behind the front of the War of Independence. “This medal was given to Adapazarı Turkish-Islam Bank Director Asım Bey,” he said, adding the medal would be put up for sale for 7,000 Turkish Liras.

The most interesting piece in the auction is a banknote, drawn by Enver Paşa, according to Tekin, saying they had learned the bank note’s interesting story through a letter sent by Enver Paşa to his sister.

He said the following about the details in the letter: “During the war, which occurred in 1911, when the Italian troops landed at Tripoli, Enver Paşa was a military attaché in Berlin. He came to Benghazi and became the commander of the small Ottoman military units there. Money for weapons and equipment was sent to our soldiers through Egypt by land due to the domination of the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean. We learned from some letters, which Enver Paşa wrote to his mother and sister, that he did not get the money on time and this is why he prepared banknotes. The banknotes were valid for a short time. He set his own seal on these banknotes and got them into circulation. In one of his letters to his sister, he says, ‘Am I a commander, banker or accountant? I work as all of them.’” Tekin said that the banknote was one of the two known banknotes and it would be put up for sale for 18,000 liras in the auction.

Pera Mezat held another auction yesterday, which brought antique and collection aficionados together. In the “Trivial History” auction, 5,170 products were auctioned. The pieces in the auction were from an anonymous collection.

Paper bags interesting

The products in the auction include photos, invoices from the Ottoman and Republic era, olive oil and cologne labels, exhibition and concert posters, lighthouse photos as well as many old documents. The auction also presented paper bags, which were used in markets and grocers in Turkey until 10 years ago.

“These bags, which people threw away or burned in stoves, are interesting objects collected by some people in recent years,” Tekin said.