GIRAY KHANS: Shahin Giray, 1777-1783, BI beshlik (1.63g), Baghcha-Saray, AH1191 year 3, A-2116, KM-48, Retowski-52 var, First Series coinage, so-called kara-beshlyk or 'black 5 para' due to the low silver quality; partial original mint luster, PCGS graded AU50, ex Dick Nauta Collection. Shahin Giray inherited a miserable coinage that consisted of heavily debased and abysmally struck beshliks (beshlyks), plus a bewildering accumulation of foreign silver coins, a conglomeration of Ottoman, Russian, and central European pieces of differing fineness. His first reform, implemented in his second year, provided 4 denominations (yirmilik, onlik, ikilik and akçe) in 88% silver and 3 denominations in low-grade billon (kara-onlyk, kara-beshlyk and ½ kara-beshlyk) in 5.2% silver. All have just the mint, date, and the Giray tamgha on the reverse.
Estimate: 150-250 USD