Egyptian pound
Worldwide use:
- Egypt
- Unofficial user: Gaza Strip (Palestinian territories), alongside Israeli new sheqel
Description:
The official currency of Egypt is the Egyptian Pound. One pound is made up of 100 Piastres or 1,000 Millimes. Coins come in 25pt, 50pt and £1. Banknotes come in £5, £10, £20, £50, £100 and £200. All banknotes are bi-lingual with English and Arabic text.
The Pound’s Arabic name Genēh / Geni comes from the Guinea coin. The Egyptian Pound was used by Anglo-Egyptian Sudan from 1899 to 1956, and Cyrenaica from 1942-1951.
Origin:
The Egyptian Pound was first minted and circulated in 1836. At times, Egypt was unable to mint enough coins and so the Sterling Pound was also deemed legal tender. The National Bank of Egypt was established in 1898 and banknotes were issued from 3rd April 1899. Gold coins were phased out in 1914.
Component units:
- Piastre (قرش, Ersh), (100)
- Millime (مليم, Mallīm) (1000)
Date introduced:
Central bank:
- Central Bank of Egypt
Printer:
- The Printing House of the Central Bank of Egypt
Mint: