Egyptian pound
جنيه مصرى (Arabic)
Obverse of EGP 1 reverse of EGP 1
ISO 4217 Code	EGP
Official user(s)	Egypt
Unofficial user(s)	Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories), alongside Israeli new sheqel
Inflation	18% [1]
Subunit
1/100	قرش, qirsh (piastre)
1/1000	مليم, maleem (millieme)
Symbol	EGP ,E£, LE, or ج.م
قرش, qirsh (piastre)	Pt.
Coins	5, 10, 20, 25, 50 Piastres, 1 Pound
Banknotes	5, 10, 25, 50 Piastres 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 Pounds
Central bank	Central Bank of Egypt
Website	www.cbe.org.eg

The Egyptian pound or gineih^[2] (Arabic: الجنيه المصرى‎, el-Gineih el-Miṣrī) (sign: £ or ج.م; code: EGP) is the currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 qirsh (قرش) (pronounced irsh^[3], piastres in English), or 1000 malleem (Arabic: مليم‎) (milliemes).

The ISO 4217 code is EGP. Locally, the abbreviation LE or L.E., which stands for livre égyptienne (French for Egyptian pound) is frequently used. E£ and £E are also much less-frequently used. Locally in Arabic, .ج.م is used as an abbreviation for el-Gineih el-Maṣrī. The Egyptian Arabic name, gineih, may be related to the English name guinea.

[edit] History

In 1834, a Royal Decree promulgating a Parliamentary Bill was issued providing for the issuing of an Egyptian currency based on a bimetallic base. The Egyptian pound was introduced, replacing the Egyptian piastre as the chief unit of currency. The piastre continued to circulate, as ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound, with the piastre subdivided into 40 para. In 1885, the para ceased to be issued and the piastre was divided into tenths (عشرالقرش oshr el-qirsh). These tenths were renamed malleem (milliemes) in 1916.

The legal exchange rates were fixed by force of law for important foreign currencies which became acceptable in the settlement of internal transactions. Eventually this led to Egypt using a de facto gold standard between 1885 and 1914, with 1 Egyptian Pound = 7.4375 grams pure gold. At the outbreak of World War I, the Egyptian pound was pegged to the British pound sterling at par.

The first one Egyptian Pound banknote issued in 1899

Egypt remained part of the Sterling Area until 1962, when Egypt devalued slightly and switched to a peg to the United States dollar, at a rate of 1 Egyptian pound = 2.3 dollars. This peg was changed to 1 Egyptian pound = 2.55555 dollars in 1973 when the dollar was devalued. The Egyptian pound was itself devalued in 1978 to a peg of 1 Egyptian pound = 1.42857 dollars (1 dollar = 0.7 Egyptian pound). The Egyptian pound floated in 1989; however, the float is tightly managed by the Central Bank of Egypt and foreign exchange controls are in effect.

The National Bank of Egypt issued banknotes for the first time on 3 April 1899. The Central Bank of Egypt and the National Bank of Egypt were unified into the Central Bank of Egypt in 1961.

For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see The History of British Currency in the Middle East.

[edit] Coins

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. (40 para = 1 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 2½ piastre coins in 1863. Gold 25 piastre coins were introduced in 1867.

In 1885, a new coinage was introduced consisting of bronze ¼, ½, 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 ½ maleem and holed, cupro-nickel 1, 2, 5 and 10 maleem 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 maleem coin and the holes were removed from the other cupro-nickel coins. In 1938, bronze 5 and 10 maleem 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 20 maleem and silver 5, 10 and 20 piastre coins, with the size of the silver coinage significantly reduced. An aluminium-bronze 2 maleem 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 maleem coins in 1972, followed by brass in the 5 and 10 maleem 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.

On June 1, 2006, 50 piastre and 1 pound coins 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. Coins, even for the smallest amounts, are encountered much less frequently than notes but coins down to 5 piastres remain legal currency.

Coins in circulation [4]
Value	Deput	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	جمهورية مصر العربية ("Arab Republic of Egypt") Value in Arabic Hijri and Gregorian year in Arabic
	1992			21	1.1	3.2	Copper 92% Aluminum 8%		Islamic pottery
	2004			17	1.04	2.4	Steel 94% Nickel 2% Copper plating 4%
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%
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				Islamic illustration Value in Arabic and in English	جمهورية مصر العربية ("Arab Republic of Egypt") Hijri and Georgian year in Arabic
	2008			21	1.26	4.5	Steel 94% Copper 2% Nickel plating 4%
50 Piastres	2005			25	1.58	6.5	Copper 75% Zinc 20% Nickel 5%		Cleopatra's head Hijri and Georgian year in Arabic	'جمهورية مصر العربية' meaning 'Arab Republic of Egypt' Value in Arabic and in English
	2007			23	1.7		Steel 94% Nickel 2% Copper plating 4%
1 Pound	2005			25	1.89	8.5	Bimetal		Tutankhamun's mask	جمهورية مصر العربية ("Arab Republic of Egypt") Value in Arabic and in English Hijri and Georgian year in Arabic
							Ring	Centre
							Copper 75% Nickel 25%	Copper 75% Zinc 20% Nickel 5%
	2007				1.96		Steel 94% Copper 2% Nickel plating 4%	Steel 94% Nickel 2% Copper plating 4%
	2008

[edit] Banknotes

In 1899, the National Bank of Egypt introduced notes in denominations of 50 qirsh, 1 5, 10, 50 and 100 gineih were introduced. Between 1916 and 1917, 25 qirsh notes were added, together with government currency notes for 5 and 10 qirsh. Issued intermittently, the 5 and 10 qirsh are today produced by the Ministry of Finance.

In 1961, the Central Bank of Egypt took over from the National Bank and issued notes in denominations of 25 and 50 Piasters, 1, 5 Pounds, 10 and 20 Pounds notes were introduced in 1976, followed by 100 gineih in 1978, 50 Pound in 1993 and 200 Egyptian Pounds in 2007.^[5]

All Egyptian banknotes are bilingual, with Arabic texts and Eastern Arabic numerals on the obverse and English and Hindu Arabic numerals on the reverse. Obverse designs tend to feature an Islamic building with reverse designs featuring an Ancient Egyptian building. During December 2006, it was mentioned in articles in Al Ahram and Al Akhbar newspapers that there were plans to introduce a 200 and 500 Pound notes. As of 2007, there are 200 Pound notes circulating in Egypt and subsequently 500 Pound notes will start circulating. As of the summer of 2009, banknotes of one pound and one half pound are being phased out, replaced by more extensive use of coins. Presumably quarter pound notes will be phased out as well.

Current Series
Image		Value	Dimensions (mm)	Main color	Description
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		25 piastres	130 × 70	Light blue	Mosque of umm-al-mu'minīn Aisha	Egyptian coat of arms
		50 piastres	135 × 70	Light green	Al-Azhar Mosque	Ramesses II
		1 Pound	140 × 70	Orange	Qaitbay Mosque	Abu Simbel
		5 Pounds	145 × 70	Bluish-green	Mosque of Ibn Tulun	A Pharaonic engraving symbolizing the River Nile offering its bounties to the valley.
		10 Pounds	150 × 70	Pink	Al Rifa'i Mosque	Khafra
		20 Pounds	155 × 70	Green	Mosque of Muhammad Ali	A Pharaonic war chariot
		50 Pounds	160 × 70	Brownish-red	Abu Huraiba Mosque	Temple of Edfu
		100 Pounds	165 × 70	Purple	Sultan Hassan Mosque	Sphinx
		200 Pounds	175 × 80	Olive	Mosque of Qanibay	The Seated Scribe

[edit] Popular denominations and nomenclature

Several unofficial popular names are used to refer to different values of Egyptian currency. These include nicklah for 2 milliemes, ta'rifa [taʕˈriːfa] for 5 milliemes, shilin for 5 piastres, bariza [baˈriːza] for 10 piastres, and reyal for 20 piastres.

Different sums of EGP have special nicknames, for example: 100 EGP astik "rubber band"; 1,000 EGP bako "pack"; 1,000,000 EGP arnab [arˈnab] "rabbit"; 1,000,000,000 EGP feel "elephant".

[edit] Historical exchange rates

[edit] Pound sterling

This table shows the value of one pound sterling in Egyptian pounds:

[edit] US dollar

The historical value of one U.S. dollar in Egyptian pounds from 1885 to 2009

This table shows the historical value of one U.S. dollar in Egyptian pounds:

Current EGP exchange rates

[edit] See also

• Economy of Egypt

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• History of the Egyptian gineih
• Egyptian money
• Egyptian coins (catalog and gallery)

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