Turkey’s Court of Accounts is older than the Republic itself: it was founded in 1862 in the Ottoman Empire as the Divan-ı Muhasebat, during the era of Ottoman reforms. For its 150th anniversary Turkey issued a commemorative 1 lira, one of the first coins in the tradition of circulating commemorative liras that began in 2012.

The design is built around lettering. The commemorative side carries the dates 1862 and 2012, the legend SAYIŞTAY’IN 150. YILI, meaning «150th year of the Court of Accounts», and the country name TÜRKİYE CUMHURİYETİ. The other side is given to the denomination 1 TÜRK LİRASI and the year.

The coin is bimetallic, with a copper-nickel centre set in a brass ring, like the everyday lira of the period. Around the edge the letters T.C., short for Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, alternate with a small tulip. The mintage was 1,000,000, against almost 93 million regular liras struck in 2012. The same anniversary was also marked by a 20 lira silver coin.

For a collection of Turkish commemorative liras this is one of the opening pieces, and for a thematic set it is a rare case of a coin honouring not a general or a monument but the institution of public audit. Uncirculated condition: the coin has never been in circulation, shows no wear and keeps its mint lustre.

VPcoins is a coin and banknote shop where collectable value comes first.