½ Budju – Regency of Algiers
Algeria
Context
Year: 1831
Islamic (Hijri) Year: 1246
Country: Algeria 
Issuer: Regency of Algiers
Ruler: Mahmud II
Currency:
(1517—1848)
Demonetized: Yes
Material
References
KM: #Click to copy to clipboardB58
Numista: #80567
Value
Bullion value: $10.61
Obverse
Reverse
Edge
Mintings
| Year | Mint Mark | Mintage | Quality | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1831 | — | — |
Historical background
In 1831, the Regency of Algiers was in a state of profound monetary and political crisis, a direct consequence of the French invasion and capture of the city the previous year. The traditional fiscal system, which had relied heavily on state piracy (privateering), tributes from subordinate regions, and maritime trade, had collapsed. The French blockade and subsequent conquest severed these revenue streams, leaving the new colonial administration and the remaining local economy in disarray. The Ottoman Algerian currency, based on the budju (a silver coin) and its fractional copper coins, faced a severe crisis of confidence and scarcity, as the authority that minted and backed it had been overthrown.
The French military authorities, now in control of Algiers and its immediate surroundings, faced the urgent problem of establishing a functioning currency to pay troops, administer the territory, and facilitate basic commerce. They initially allowed the continued circulation of existing Ottoman and foreign coins (such as Spanish piastres), but these were insufficient and unstable. In 1831, the French began to introduce their own currency, initially through the overstriking of captured Algerian coinage with French marks and later by importing French francs. This created a chaotic dual system where old Algerian money, rapidly depreciating due to uncertainty, circulated uneasily alongside new, imposed French currency.
This monetary confusion reflected the larger limbo of the Regency itself in 1831. French control was tenuous, limited mainly to the coast, while resistance led by figures like Ahmed Bey in the Constantine interior continued. The currency situation, therefore, was not merely an economic issue but a symbol of the fractured sovereignty and the painful transition from Ottoman regency to a nascent French colony. The instability hindered all economic activity, exacerbating the hardship of the local population and complicating the French colonial project in its earliest and most uncertain phase.
The French military authorities, now in control of Algiers and its immediate surroundings, faced the urgent problem of establishing a functioning currency to pay troops, administer the territory, and facilitate basic commerce. They initially allowed the continued circulation of existing Ottoman and foreign coins (such as Spanish piastres), but these were insufficient and unstable. In 1831, the French began to introduce their own currency, initially through the overstriking of captured Algerian coinage with French marks and later by importing French francs. This created a chaotic dual system where old Algerian money, rapidly depreciating due to uncertainty, circulated uneasily alongside new, imposed French currency.
This monetary confusion reflected the larger limbo of the Regency itself in 1831. French control was tenuous, limited mainly to the coast, while resistance led by figures like Ahmed Bey in the Constantine interior continued. The currency situation, therefore, was not merely an economic issue but a symbol of the fractured sovereignty and the painful transition from Ottoman regency to a nascent French colony. The instability hindered all economic activity, exacerbating the hardship of the local population and complicating the French colonial project in its earliest and most uncertain phase.
💎 Extremely Rare