The guruş (kuruş; Ott. ghuruş) was an Ottoman silver coin that was minted from 1131/1719 to 1919 and served as the monetary unit of the Ottoman currency system until the end of the empire. Long before minting the guruş, the Ottomans used the term, which derives from groschen (Ger.)/grosso (It.), to name large European silver pieces that circulated in the empire, including esedi (esedī) guruş for the Dutch leeuwendaalder (“lion dollar”) and riyal (riyāl) guruş for the Spanish real de a ocho (“Spanish dollar,” or “piece of eight”).

During the century-long crisis that began in the 990…