Coins
1⁄40 EPT Coin -1839 |
1⁄40 EPT Coin -1909 |
10 EPT Coin -1909 |
20 EPT coin -1915 |
2 millieme Coin -1916 |
21⁄2 millieme Coin -1933 |
1⁄2 millieme Coin -1938 |
1 EGP golden Coin -1938 |
10 millieme coin -1943 |
2 EPT coin -1944 |
1 millieme coin -1954 |
25 EPT coin -1970 |
Between 1834 and 1836, copper 1 and 5 para, silver 10 and 20 para, 1, 5, 10 and 20 piastre, gold 5, 10 and 20 piastre and 1 pound coins were introduced, with gold 50 piastre coins following in 1839. (1 Para = 1⁄40 Piastre).
Copper 10 para coins were introduced in 1853, although the silver coin continued to be issued. Copper 10 para coins were again introduced in 1862, followed by copper 4 para and 21⁄2 piastre coins in 1863. Gold 25 piastre coins were introduced in 1867.
In 1885, a new coinage was introduced consisting of bronze 1⁄4, 1⁄2, 1, 2 and 5 millieme, silver 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 piastre coins. The gold coinage practically ceased, with only small numbers of 5 and 10 piastre coins issued.
In 1916 and 1917, a new base metal coinage was introduced consisting of bronze 1⁄2 millieme and holed, cupro-nickel 1, 2, 5 and 10 millieme coins. Silver 2, 5, 10 and 20 piastre coins continued to be issued, and a gold 1 pound coin was reintroduced. Between 1922 and 1923, the gold coinage was extended to include 20 and 50 piastre and 1 and 5 pound coins. In 1924, bronze replaced cupro-nickel in the 1 millieme coin and the holes were removed from the other cupro-nickel coins. In 1938, bronze 5 and 10 millieme coins were introduced, followed in 1944 by silver, hexagonal 2 piastre coins.
Between 1954 and 1956, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of aluminium-bronze 1, 5 and 10 millieme and silver 5, 10 and 20 piastre coins, with the size of the silver coinage significantly reduced. An aluminium-bronze 2 millieme coin was introduced in 1962. In 1967 the silver coinage was abandoned and cupro-nickel 5 and 10 piastre coins were introduced.
Aluminium replaced aluminium-bronze in the 1, 5 and 10 millieme coins in 1972, followed by brass in the 5 and 10 millieme coins in 1973. Aluminium-bronze 2 piastre and cupro-nickel 20 piastre coins were introduced in 1980, followed by aluminium-bronze 1 and 5 piastre coins in 1984. In 1992, brass 5 and 10 piastre coins were introduced, followed by holed, cupro-nickel 25 piastre coins in 1993. The size of 5 piastre coins was reduced in 2004, 10 and 25 piastre coins - in 2008.
On June 1, 2006, 50 piastre and 1 pound coins with date 2005 were introduced, with the equivalent banknotes to be scrapped later. The coins bear the faces of Cleopatra VII and Tutankhamun, and the 1 pound coin is bimetallic. The size and composition of 50 piastre coins was reduced in 2007.
With the possible exception of the now-ubiquitous 1-pound coin, coins are encountered much less frequently than notes, even for the smallest amounts, but coins down to 5 piastres remain legal tender. However, some vendors may refuse to accept five- and ten-piastre coins, on account of their low value and the consequent difficulty in giving them back in change; prices tend to be rounded to the nearest quarter pound, making 50- and 25-piastre coins much more common.
| Coins in circulation | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Debut | Image | Specifications | Description | ||||||
| Obverse | Reverse | Diameter (mm) | Thickness (mm) | Mass (g) | Composition | Obverse | Reverse | |||
| 5 Piastres | 1984 | 23 | 1.2 | 4.9 | Copper 95% Aluminum 5% | 3 pyramids of Giza |
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| 1992 | 21 | 1.1 | 3.2 | Copper 92% Aluminum 8% |
Islamic pottery | |||||
| 2004 2008 | 17 | 1.04 | 2.4 | Steel 94% Nickel 2% Copper plating 4% |
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| 10 Piastres | 1984 | 25 | 1.35 | 5.2 | Copper 75% Nickel 25% | Mosque of Muhammad Ali | ||||
| 1992 | 23 | 1.2 | 4.9 | Copper 95% Aluminum 5% | ||||||
| 2008 | 19 | 1.1 | 3.2 | Steel 94% Copper 2% Nickel plating 4% |
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| 20 Piastres | 1984 | 27 | 1.4 | 6 | Copper 75% Nickel 25% | |||||
| 1992 | 25 | 1.35 | 5.2 | Copper 95% Aluminum 5% |
Al-Azhar mosque | |||||
| 25 Piastres | 1993 | 1.4 |
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| 2008 | 21 | 1.26 | 4.5 | Steel 94% Copper 2% Nickel plating 4% |
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| 50 Piastres | 2005 | 25 | 1.58 | 6.5 | Copper 75% Zinc 20% Nickel 5% |
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| 2007 | 23 | 1.7 | Steel 94% Nickel 2% Copper plating 4% |
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| 1 Pound | 2005 | 25 | 1.89 | 8.5 | Bimetal | Tutankhamun's mask |
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| Ring | Centre | |||||||||
| Copper 75% Nickel 25% |
Copper 75% Zinc 20% Nickel 5% |
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| 2007 2008 | 1.96 | Steel 94% Copper 2% Nickel plating 4% |
Steel 94% Nickel 2% Copper plating 4% |
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Read more about this topic: Egyptian Pound
Famous quotes containing the word coins:
“A war undertaken without sufficient monies has but a wisp of force. Coins are the very sinews of battles.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“No Time, spoke the clocks, no God, rang the bells,
I drew the white sheet over the islands
And the coins on my eyelids sang like shells.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)