KOPECK | AKÇE: COIN OF CRIMEAN KHANATE
1 kopeck | 3 akçe, 1780: Crimean Khanate (Russian Empire, protectorate)
The Crimean Khanate — Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783. Established by Hacı I Giray in 1441, it was regarded as the direct heir to the Golden Horde and to Desht-i-Kipchak. During the years 1478-1774, the Crimean Khanate was under the total influence of the Ottoman Empire, being in fact a part of it. From 1774 until the beginning of the reign of Şahin Giray in 1777, the Khanate was independent, after which it came under the protectorate of the Russian Empire. However, already in 1783, Russia completely annexed Crimea.
Ruler: Şahin Giray — the last Khan of Crimean Khanate (1777-1783).
Date on coin: 1777 — the first year of the khan's reign. The date is specified as AH 1191 (AH: Latin "Anno Hegirae" — "the year of the Hijra"; Islamic calendar). Also, the 4th ("۴") year of the khan's reign, corresponding to 1780, is indicated on the coin. That is, although the coin is marked with the year 1777, it was produced in 1780 on new, advanced machinery at that time.
The legend contains an indication of the ruler's name and title, as well as the mint.
A wreath of 8 leaves and 8 flowers.
Tamga of the Crimean khans of the Giray dynasty (tarak-tamga; now — the coat of arms of the Crimean Tatars).
Bakhchysarai Mint.
- Copper: 29 mm - 9.42 g
- Reference price: 55$
COIN KOPECK | AKÇE — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- CRIMEAN KHANATE (1780-1782): kopeck | akçe (a coin with a double denomination)
KOPECK | AKÇE as coin name.
Kopeck | Akçe — copper coins of the Crimean Khanate under the protectorate of the Russian Empire, which during 1780-1782 were minted in Caffa (modern Feodosia: Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine) and Bakhchysarai (town in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine) using a revolutionary machine method for Crimea at that time.
In 1774, the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed between the Russian and Ottoman Empires, which proclaimed the independence of the Crimean Khanate from Constantinople. In fact, the khanate fell under the protectorate of St. Petersburg. The gradual absorption of Crimea by the Russian Empire began.
The above-mentioned coins were minted during the reign of the last Crimean Khan — Şahin Giray, who during 1779-1780 carried out his second monetary reform. This reform was designed to bring together the monetary systems of the until recently Ottoman Crimean Khanate and the Russian Empire. This is how transitional coins appeared, corresponding in weight to Russian coins (kopecks), but essentially remaining akçe (copper coins; silver coins continued to be issued according to the Ottoman system).
Each of these coins bore the date of the first year of the Şahin Giray khanate (1191 AH, which corresponds to 1777 according to the Gregorian calendar), as well as the serial number of the year of the khan's reign — 4th, 5th or 6th.
In total, several denominations belong to the coins of the Crimean Khanate under the protectorate of the Russian Empire: 1/4 kopeck (polushka), 1/2 kopeck (denga), 1 kopeck... The 1 kopeck (3 akçe) of Şahin Giray is the most common in numismatic collections. As for the quarter kopeck (polushka) of this type there is a debate: it is still unclear whether such a denomination actually existed...
The name of the coin "Kopeck | Akçe" is quite conventional. Crimean coins, the denomination of which modern numismatic sources indicate in a dual format — Russian kopecks and Ottoman akçe — did not actually contain any direct indication of the denomination. They differed only in size and weight.
The largest coins of this type – 5 kopecks (15 akçe) and 10 kopecks (30 akçe) — are separated into separate units: kyrmis and tschal, respectively.
