OTTOMAN TUNIS
Abdul Mejid (1255-1277ah / 1839-1861ce)
With the name of Muhammed al-Sadiq Bey (1276-1277ah / 1859-1860ce)
100 riyals 1277ah (1860ce) AU 19.66g cf.KM 141 RRRR xf+
Fenina cautiously alludes to the existence of this exceedingly rare coin in his dissertation. On page 250 (Tableau LXXXIII) he determined on the basis of archived documents from the Tunis Mint – located during Ottoman times on the grounds of the Bardo Palace, a Hafsid building constructed in the 15th century, west of the city center – that the mintage of the 100 riyal coin did not exceed 220 pieces in the year 1277ah. One can, therefore, assume that it was intended to be a so-called monnaie d'hommage, given by the Bey to visiting dignitaries. Without a doubt, most all of them were remelted at some point in subsequent time.