St. James's Auctions
Auction 51 14 Oct 2021
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Turkey, Istanbul, Péra (Beyoğlu) and Nichan-Tach (Nişantaşı), T. Pappis Dairy, copper milk token, uncertain date, cow's head above T.G. PAPPIS PÉRA, GRANDE LAITERIE MODELE NICHAN-TACH around, rev. BON POUR ¾ OCQUE DE LAIT PUR, certified and graded by NGC as Mint State 63 Red Brown
Péra (Beyoğlu) and Nichan-Tach (Nişantaşı) are neighbouring suburbs of Istanbul. An ocque was an Ottoman form of measurement amounting to 400 dirhems, but in practice the weight could vary widely between locations. This unpredictability led to the metric system being adopted in Turkey in the 1880s. ¾ of an ocque is roughly equivalent to one litre, so Howard Simmons has advanced the theory that this token was issued during metrication using "an understandable local measure" to convey the metric unit.
(50-100 GBP)
Péra (Beyoğlu) and Nichan-Tach (Nişantaşı) are neighbouring suburbs of Istanbul. An ocque was an Ottoman form of measurement amounting to 400 dirhems, but in practice the weight could vary widely between locations. This unpredictability led to the metric system being adopted in Turkey in the 1880s. ¾ of an ocque is roughly equivalent to one litre, so Howard Simmons has advanced the theory that this token was issued during metrication using "an understandable local measure" to convey the metric unit.
(50-100 GBP)