Description
Catalogue No: KM#860, 860.1a, 860.2
Is the first coin minted in the new Turkish letters after the alphabet reform in 1928.
Initially a contest was organized for its design and the effigy of Ataturk by Ahmet Mesrur Durum and the reverse designed by Vedat Ömer Ar were announced as the winners. However, second place models were also sent to the capital for consideration and eventually submissions by artist Ali Cemal were approved for circulation strikes.
Until 1944, spelling of the word “Cumhuriyet” (Republic) was printed as “Cümhuriyet” because the exact orthography was not yet settled. Previous Arabic text lacked all the vowels Turkish language uses, hence transition to the new Turkish alphabet created such discrepancies for some time (*8).
The coin was struck with a few variants of the size and placement of the star on the reverse.
