Egypt 1923 50 piastres
The Kingdom of Egypt was established in 1922, with Fuad I as the first ruler. He had previously been sultan (1917-1922) when Egypt was a British protectorate. During his reign, Egyptian coinage was changed significantly from previous issues, with the portrait of the leader decorating the obverse. Previously, no human portraits appeared on coins.
The coin pictured is a 50 piastres, composition gold. The portrait of Fuad I is on the obverse, with the year reverse (both Hijra and Gregorian dates shown), denomination, and 'Kingdom of Egypt' written in Arabic. Date is 1923 AD - AH 1341. This specimen was sold as lot 23604 on Apr 26, 2010 at the 2010 April Rosemont, IL CICF Signature World Coin Auction #3009 for $207. The catalog description reads: "Fuad gold 50 Piastres AH1341 (1923), XF, and scarce."
Recorded mintage: 18,000.
Specification: 4.25.00g, 0.875 fine gold, 0.1195 AGW
Catalog reference: KM 340, Fr-104 (formerly Fr-29).
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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