Ottoman-European Trade Relations in the 16^th Century: A Look at ‘Yusufça Hoard’ Example

Abstract

The subject of this article is the hoard found in Yusufça Village of Kandıra District of Kocaeli and named as “Yusufça Hoard”. There are 154 gold and 2 silver coins in the hoard. Of the gold coins, 98 are Ottoman and the other 56 are European coins. European coins and the coins of the Ottoman sultans are contemporary. The hoard shows an accumulation of approximately 160 years consisting of coins dated roughly between 1462-1622. The aim of this study is to discuss the circulation of money through the commercial activities / relations of the empires / states / principalities that existed in the aforementioned century in the light of hoard dating back to the 16^th century. For this reason, it was aimed to deal with the historical, regional and mint operations of the coins in the hoard by focusing on the economy, market, trade, merchants and money issues in the 16^th century Ottoman world. In the article, based on the example of the Yusufça Hoard consisting of 154 gold and 2 silver Ottoman and European coins dating to the 16^th century, the place/ circulation of gold coins in longdistance trade in the 16^th century, the owner of the accumulation and the profession are discussed. The states represented by the foreign currencies in the treasury, their gold coins and mints were mentioned, the relations between these states and the Ottoman Empire and the coins of these two states were discussed, The Yusufça Hoard has been evaluated separately by comparing it to contemporary similar hoard samples within and outside of Anatolia. Precious coins buried in the ground as part of larger coins in cities or the countryside; the location of the coins, how they could be used, the production of coins and the level of people earning money, how and by whom the gold coins were used, the hoard owner and accumulation were discussed.