One of the oldest and most important institutions in Türkiye since the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, also known as Mehmed the Conquerer, the Mint and Stamp Printing House has played a key role in the production of precious metals and the printing of money throughout its history.

Daily Sabah sheds light on the rich history and current activities of this long-established institution through interviews with Mint officials and artists.

Mehmet Ali Serttaş, the head of the mint department, stated that precious metals, gold and coins, as well as medallions and commemorative coins, are produced at the Mint located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul.

Emphasizing that the Mint's range of activities is very wide, Serttaş also gave information about the activities of the Stamp Printing House in Kartal, another important facility.

"At our Kartal Stamp Printing House, we produce documents such as the Republic of Türkiye's identity cards, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) identity cards, passports, international departure stamps and family record booklets. By using the latest technology products, we have become globally competitive in these areas," Serttaş said.

In addition, Tolga Eren Alper, the director of Coin Production at the Mint, said that more than 1 billion coins containing copper, zinc and nickel metals are produced and delivered to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) every year.

Hüseyin Çimir, director of Precious Metals Processing at the Mint, explained the details of the gold production process.

"We are the exclusive manufacturer of Republic-Gold coins. Gold is melted, rolled and stamped into a gold stamp. Defective golds are recycled. Intact Gold stamps are annealed, minted, quality checked and packaged for shipment," he explained.

Sculptors Nalan Yerlibucak and Tekin Gülbasar shed light on the institution's design process.

Yerlibucak said: "Our designs are usually created digitally, but sometimes, although rarely, they are shaped by hand drawings. Each design aims to reflect the cultural richness of Türkiye."

Gülbasar described the design process: "First we go through the design phase and then we create our models digitally. These models are transformed into production using the latest technology."

1st Nobel during Ottomans

Mint Archive Directorate Valuables Custodian Yaşar Çukur stated that the Mint archive collection includes 13,000 artifacts ranging from the first money of the Lydians to the republican period.

"The Order of Glory, in other words, the second highest-ranking chivalric order of the Ottoman Empire, could be considered as the beginning of the Nobel Prize tradition. The Nobel Prize began to be awarded in 1903, and the Ottoman Empire awarded the Order of Glory to scientists all over the world in the early 1800s," Çukur explained.

"For example, Samuel Morse, who invented the telegraph, received his first medal from the Ottoman Empire as a medal of glory. William Redhouse, the best man of letters of that period, also received his first medal from the Ottoman Empire," he elaborated.

The news of the passing of the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and known as Saladin in the West, Selahaddin Eyyubi, who died in 1193, six years after he conquered Jerusalem, caused great sadness among women in the region at the time. A special coin was minted to honor this emotional memory and is still kept in the collection of the mint today.

This special coin depicts four weeping women, reflecting the tragic death of Selahaddin Eyyubi after his triumphant victory.

Old 'Teknofest'

The Sergi Umumi (Ottoman General Exhibition) medal, one of the rare and valuable artifacts of the Mint, was awarded at a fair organized in Sultanahmet Square in the 1870s, where technological developments were exhibited and companies were promoted.

"The Ottoman General Exhibition fair was open for six months at that time. This medal was made and given to the companies participating in the fair by order of the sultan. In other words, the Teknofest we organized today was held in Sultanahmet Square 170 years ago, and all the technology companies of the world participated in the festival we held in Sultanahmet, and everyone who participated was given a medal by the Sultan," Çukur noted.