Ottoman Kurus

About Ottoman Kurus

Also called the piastre in European languages. Became the standard silver coin of the Ottoman Empire. Featured the tughra, the calligraphic monogram of the sultan, on the obverse. The kurus was modeled on the European thaler, giving the dollar its name through a chain of linguistic borrowings. In the 19th century, the kurus was supplemented by the gold lira. The modern Turkish lira is a direct descendant of this currency tradition.