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Antinopolis commemorative coins

In 130 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian was visiting Egypt as part of a large-scale tour of the eastern parts of his empire. Naturally, Hadrian took his "favorite" page, Antoninus, with him. Fate would have it that the page drowned in the Nile River, causing the emperor great sorrow. It was then that Hadrian decided to build a city…

Coins of Baybars II

Baybars al-Jashankir assumed power during the second reign of al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun after the latter left Cairo and retired to Karak. However, al-Jashankir's rule was short-lived, as he failed to gain the loyalty of the elite or even the support of the common people. The country's situation deteriorated, and dangers and threats multiplied. After approximately a year, al-Nasir Muhammad returned…

The gold coinage of Babylon

After Alexander captured the Achaemenid treasuries in Persepolis, Susa, and Pasargadae, he melted down their gold and silver and minted enormous quantities of gold and silver coins—especially silver—in Babylon, using the Macedonian style and the Attic standard to pay soldiers and distribute spoils among senior army commanders. Here we present a sample of the gold coinage minted in…

Damanhur Silver Treasure

Near the town of Damanhur, the capital of the Beheira Governorate, a small number of residents discovered a substantial hoard of silver coins in 1905. More than 8,000 silver coins of the "Tetradach" type were unearthed, most of them minted during the lifetime of Alexander the Great in the various cities he conquered throughout his historic campaign in the East. Unfortunately, the available information about…

Public toilet tax

During the year 69 AD, the Roman general Vespasian was besieging Jerusalem to suppress a rebellion when he decided to entrust the siege to his son Titus so that he could go to Alexandria and from there to Rome to claim the contested imperial throne. In Alexandria, he received news of the defeat of his rival Vitellius and that the Senate had recognized him as emperor, and…

The first Abbasid currency issue in Egypt

The mint of Egypt (Fustat) in the year 133 AH marked the final chapter in the history of the Umayyad Caliphate with the killing of its last caliph, Marwan ibn Muhammad, at the hands of the Abbasids in the village of Zawiyat al-Maslub, in the Wasita district of Beni Suef Governorate. A few months later, a new bronze coin bearing the name of… was minted in Fustat.

Arab amateurs win banknote prizes

In January 2024, the American company BMG announced the results of its global banknote collection competition, which revealed that a number of Arab collectors and Arab collections in general achieved honorable results and top rankings worldwide, including the award for best banknote collection among all currency collections…

Egyptian Postal Bulletins

The Egyptian Postal Service Bulletin, or the Egyptian Postal Authority's Postal Bulletin, is a government bulletin issued by the Postal Authority, its offices, and its employees. It contains all orders, instructions, and statements issued by the General Administration, and a copy is sent to each office to keep employees informed of all new orders and instructions. This bulletin was first issued on January 1, 1885, under the name "The Weekly Bulletin"...

Encyclopedia of Egyptian Protocol

During a special event, Engineer Magdy Hanafy announced the release of his latest book, "Encyclopedia of Egyptian Ceremonies," at a seminar on Saturday, December 16, 2023. Attendees were welcomed, and a presentation was given introducing the encyclopedia and its contents. The seminar included a question-and-answer session with the author and a book signing. The encyclopedia contains information on…

NGC office opens in Dubai

In a first for the Arab region, CCG, the US-based owner of NGC, a leading coin grading company, announced plans to open an office in Dubai in 2024. The Dubai office will serve as an application center, connecting to the company's headquarters in the United States, and will handle the transfer of submitted collections.

About the Egyptian Post

A brief overview of the Egyptian postal service, published by the "Egyptian Youth Education Authority" and printed in Florence, Italy in English in 1912, was republished in the book "Egyptian Postage Stamps" by Fred Melville in 1918. Simple post offices were opened in both Cairo and Alexandria, their purpose being to deliver letters to the European community, hence their later name, Posta Europea. There are still...

Khwarazmian Currency, a new book

New publication from the Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage: Title: Khwarazmian Coins from the Beginning of the Tahirid Dynasty to the End of the Timurid Dynasty (207-911 AH / 820-1504 AD) Author: Dr. Sharif Yahya Mahmoud Muhammad Khwarazmian Coins: This book sheds light on the study of the coins of the various states that ruled the Khwarazmian region during the research period, according to their historical chronological order, examining the coins of each state…

The hobby of kings and presidents

What are the hobbies of kings and presidents? And why are they called that? Most of us know that King Farouk was one of the world's greatest stamp collectors, but perhaps not all of us know that US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was also a huge fan. This may have been one of the reasons for the friendship that developed between the two men, unlike the relationship that existed between…

Currency of the Imamate of Oman

Love Dirham

From the stories of coins: The Love Dirham! Perhaps one of the most beautiful Islamic coins in terms of design, its exquisite design is surpassed only by the even more beautiful love story it tells! The coin known as the "Lion and Sun Dirham" or "Love Dirham" was minted and circulated in the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum. It differs from most Islamic coins that have reached us, as it does not bear a decorative design…

Ashkelon coins through the ages

This article will examine examples of coins minted in Ashkelon throughout the ages: Philistine, Hellenistic, Roman, and Islamic. Ashkelon is one of the largest and oldest cities in Palestine on the Mediterranean coast. It is located 65 km west of Jerusalem. The Canaanites founded the city in the third millennium BC. 1- Philistine: Here we present a coin minted in Ashkelon during…

Gaza Money Lecture

On Friday, October 27th, a lecture titled "Gaza's Currency" was held. The lecture, broadcast remotely via Zoom to the Arab Collector's Office, was presented in collaboration with engineer Mohammed Abdul Hamid. Abdul Hamid explained, "We felt it was our duty to contribute to preserving Palestinian history and heritage, and so we began preparing this lecture, in which we will delve into the history of…"

Coins of Gaza City

This is Gaza City… that steadfast, ancient city that has always been a thorn in the side of invaders throughout history. Even as the invaders changed, it remained. It is also the most important city on the Palestinian coast to have begun issuing its own currency, or rather, the first to do so. This is Gaza, the city whose land continues to witness a present that is shaping history…

Sale of royal coins at the Egyptian Mint

On July 18, 2023, the Sales Department of the Egyptian Treasury and Mint announced the opening of a sale for some of Egypt's royal coins. It offered sets of copper and nickel coins issued during the reigns of Sultan Hussein, King Fuad I, and King Farouk I for public purchase. The coins were displayed…

The heaviest drachma minted in Alexandria has ever appeared in the world.

What is the heaviest drachma in the world, minted in Alexandria? Introduction: Egypt fell under Roman rule in 30 BC after the Battle of Actium, in which Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII clashed on one side, and Octavian and the Roman legions on the other. The end of the battle marked the beginning of the Roman province of Egypt…