Turkish Journal of History, sa.81, ss.63-120, 2023 (ESCI)
When the Turkish Republic was founded the new state continued using Ottoman banknotes (evrak-ı nakdiye) for some time while preparing to print its own banknotes. In printing its own banknotes, the new state was motivated by Atatürk’s all-purpose motto of “catching up with the modern civilization level” in the realization of its goal. To this end, the Banknote Commission (Evrak-ı Nakdiye Komisyonu) was established under the direction of Mustafa Abdulhalik Bey. The illustrations on the banknotes were drawn by Ali Sami Bey. The first banknotes of the Republic of Turkey went into circulation on December 5, 1927. Following the circulation of the new banknotes, old counterfeit banknotes were found to be being circulated and Ali Sami Bey was put on trial. These issues were followed closely by the Turkish press which shared the developments with their readers. This study aims to describe how the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet reflected the stories revolving around the printing of the first banknotes of the Turkish Republic.