Egypt
French Egyptian Bank
What were the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the French-Egyptian Bank?… And how did Egypt come to own half of the Eiffel Tower in France? The Ottoman and Egyptian public debt: The Ottoman state budget experienced its greatest turmoil throughout its history due to the Crimean War, when the Ottoman state took out its first loan from European financiers to finance its war effort. Between 1854 and 1879, the Ottomans took out 18 loans totaling…
August 4, 2022Has the Egyptian Mint exhausted its ideas?
Is there a crisis in the design of Egyptian currency due to a lack of ideas? Or have the design expertise within the Egyptian Mint disappeared? With the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world began issuing commemorative coins and postage stamps to celebrate the role of the medical sector in combating the pandemic. In January 2021, Egypt decided to issue a commemorative coin to honor the teams…
May 27, 2022Egyptian currency of 1938 and the state of confusion
What Egyptian currencies were not issued in 1938, and why was there such political and economic turmoil during this period? Cairo – February 1937, where our story begins. At that time, the Ministry of Finance announced the minting of Egyptian currency in the name of His Majesty King Farouk I, and the news was conveyed to the Royal Court in preparation for authorizing the representative of the Mint in Birmingham to proceed with the minting…
April 9, 2022The first issue of Egyptian paper currency
When was the first issue of Egyptian banknotes put into circulation? And were they actually in circulation from the moment they were issued? An introduction to the first issue of Egyptian banknotes: While reading the new volume of Engineer Magdi Hafiz's book, "Encyclopedia and Catalog of Egyptian Currencies – Egyptian Banknotes," I came across Chapter Five, which details the circulation of the first issue of Egyptian banknotes, and which is considered…
April 2, 2022An interview with Heidi, the artist who created coins depicting ancient Egyptian gods.
Many collectors enjoy collecting their country's coins and official currency, but some countries' ancient civilizations have had such a profound impact on world history that foreign mints (and sometimes even foreign governments) have designed coins inspired by the history of these ancient civilizations. Egypt is one such country. Recently, two of these unique medals have been celebrated…
February 16, 2021The small change crisis in Egypt in 1941
With the escalating tensions of World War II, and beginning in the second quarter of 1941, nickel became scarce globally, making it difficult to procure for coinage due to its use in weapons manufacturing. Priority in supplying the metal shifted to war factories rather than mints, and the price of nickel ore skyrocketed, transforming the metal into a strategic commodity in high demand…
October 11, 2020Royal Tourism Cup
On my last visit to the Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria last year, I saw many beautiful and very valuable pieces, but I was deeply disappointed that the information panels didn't quench my usual thirst for knowledge. Today, by chance, I came across important information about one of these pieces: the "Royal Tourism Cup." The manufacture of this cup was completed…
March 26, 2020