Hello,
I bought this 2/10 qirsh AH 1293/1876 CE Ottoman Egypt coin with “G” and “M” countermarked on it. It is N#5828 with “G" countermarked on the tughra side and “M” countermarked on the denomination side. I know that Greek islands/cities countermarked Ottoman coins (e.g., https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ottoman-empire-5-para-1255-year-19-1857-with-strange-counterstamp.383428/, http://www.hourmo.eu/13_Ottoman_Empire/Countermarked_Ottomans/Index_Countermarked_Ottomans.html, https://coins.ha.com/itm/islamic-dynasties/ottoman-empire-greece-anonymous-counterstamped-5-lepta-nd-vf-/a/271846-39469.s?ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Auction-Archive-ThisAuction-120115) but those seem to have symbols or Greek letters, not Latin alphabet M and G.
Does anyone have any idea why this coin was countermarked? Options I can think of are: reuse for local circulation by some community, merchant/commercial markings/tokenization, or someone with initials M/G making this into a souvenir. What do people think? Thanks very much.
David
