What is this coin all about?! Ha! This mischievous proof silver Crown was issued by Turkey in 1996 to commemorate that year as "Nasreddin Hoca year", as it was proclaimed by UNESCO. Who was Nasreddin Hoca? Well, saw the branch you’re sitting on, he was the penultimate trickster/philosopher of the ages and a national icon of Turkey. If he were still alive today (as many in Turkey assert) he would be 799 years old. A 13th century personality he was reputed to have antagonized not just his neighbors with his beautiful foolishness but Tamerlane himself - presenting the great Tamerlane with a roasted one-legged goose (Nasreddin having been overtaken with hunger on his journey to see the great man). Tamerlane being lame in one leg took this as the greatest insult and demanded explanation. Nasreddin insisted that all geese from those parts were one-legged and pointed out the window where a number of geese were standing about indeed on only one leg each. Tamerlane had the geese chased away by attendants with sticks and attempted to refute Nasreddin, but Nasreddin insisted that he would grow two additional legs if he were chased about with sticks like those. So, if you can appreciate such a person or want to make a gift for a wise joker of your acquaintance then this proof silver Crown would be fantastic.