Item: i105112

Authentic Coin of:

Turkey
50th Anniversary of the National Assembly in Ankara
1970 Silver 25 Lira 32.1mm (14.80 grams) 0.830 Silver  (0.3896 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 897
TURKIYE CUMHURIYETI, Bust facing.
HAKIMIYET MILLETINDIR 23 NISAN 1920-1970 25 LIRA, National Assembly Building.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of  Authenticity.

Ankara, historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 4.5 million in its urban center and over 5.6 million in Ankara Province, making it Turkey’s second-largest city after Istanbul.

Serving as the capital of the ancient Celtic state of Galatia (280–64 BC), and later of the Roman province with the same name (25 BC–7th century), the city is very old with various Hattian, Hittite, Lydian, Phrygian, Galatian, Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman archeological sites. The Ottomans made the city the capital first of the Anatolia Eyalet (1393–late 15th century), and then the Angora Vilayet (1867–1922). The historical center of Ankara is a rocky hill rising 150 m (500 ft) over the left bank of the Ankara River, a tributary of the Sakarya River. The hill remains crowned by the ruins of Ankara Castle. Although few of its outworks have survived, there are well-preserved examples of Roman and Ottoman architecture throughout the city, the most remarkable being the 20 BC Temple of Augustus and Rome that boasts the Monumentum Ancyranum, the inscription recording the Res Gestae Divi Augusti.

On 23 April 1920, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was established in Ankara, which became the headquarters of the Turkish National Movement during the Turkish War of Independence. Ankara became the new Turkish capital upon the establishment of the Republic on 29 October 1923, succeeding in this role the former Turkish capital Istanbul following the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The government is a prominent employer, but Ankara is also an important commercial and industrial city, located at the center of Turkey’s road and railway networks. The city gave its name to the Angora wool shorn from Angora rabbits, the long-haired Angora goat (the source of mohair), and the Angora cat. The area is also known for its pears, honey and muscat grapes. Although situated in one of the driest regions of Turkey and surrounded mostly by steppe vegetation (except for the forested areas on the southern periphery), Ankara can be considered a green city in terms of green areas per inhabitant, at 72 square meters (775 square feet) per head.

Turkey,  officially the Republic of Turkey, is a parliamentary republic in Eurasia , mainly on the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia , with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe . Turkey is bordered by eight  countries: Syria and Iraq to the south; Iran , Armenia , and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the east; Georgia to the northeast; Bulgaria to the northwest; and Greece to the west. The Black Sea is to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west. The Bosphorus , the Sea of Marmara , and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits ) demarcate the boundary between Thrace and Anatolia ; they also separate Europe and Asia.  Turkey’s location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of  significant geostrategic importance.

Turkey has been inhabited since the paleolithic age , including various ancient Anatolian civilizations, Aeolian , Dorian and Ionian Greeks , Thracians , Armenians , and Assyrians . After Alexander the Great ‘s conquest, the area was Hellenized , a process which continued under the Roman Empire and its transition into the Byzantine Empire . The Seljuk Turks began migrating into the area in  the 11th century, starting the process of Turkification , which was greatly accelerated by  the Seljuk victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until  the Mongol invasion in 1243, upon which it  disintegrated into several small Turkish beyliks .

Starting from the late 13th century, the Ottomans united Anatolia and created an empire  encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa,  becoming a major power in Eurasia and Africa during the early modern period . The empire reached the  peak of its power between the 15th and 17th centuries, especially during the  1520–66 reign of Suleiman the Magnificent . After the second Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683 and the  end of the Great Turkish War in 1699, the Ottoman Empire  entered a long period of decline . The Tanzimat reforms of the 19th century, which  aimed to modernize the Ottoman state, proved to be inadequate in most fields,  and failed to stop the dissolution of the empire .

Effectively controlled by the Three Pashas after the 1913 coup d’état , the Ottoman Empire entered World War I (1914–18) on the side of the Central Powers and was ultimately defeated.  During the war, the Ottoman government committed ethnic cleansing or genocide against its Armenian , Assyrian and Pontic Greek citizens. Following the war, the  conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman  Empire was divided into several new states .

The Turkish War of Independence (1919–22),  initiated by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues in Anatolia , resulted in the establishment of the  modern Republic of Turkey in 1923, with Atatürk as its first president. Turkey  is a democratic , secular , unitary , constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage . The country’s  official language is Turkish , a Turkic language spoken natively by  approximately 85 percent of the population. 70–75 percent of the population are  ethnic Turks ; and about 25-30% of the population  consists of recognized (Armenians, Greeks , Jews ) and unrecognized (Kurds, Circassians , Arabs , Albanians , Bosniaks , Georgians , etc.) minorities. Kurds make up the  largest minority group. The vast majority of the population is Sunni Muslim , with Alevis making up the largest religious  minority. Turkey is a charter member of the UN , early member of NATO , and a founding member of the OECD , OSCE , OIC and the G-20 . After becoming one of the first members of the Council of Europe in 1949, Turkey became an associate member of the EEC in 1963, applied for full EEC membership in  1987, joined the EU Customs Union in 1995 and started accession negotiations with the European Union in 2005. Turkey’s growing  economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power.