Starting in 1973, Egypt has been issuing modern commemorative-style coins in 'pound' denomination. That is not the weight of the coin, that is the denomination, like cents, dollars, shillings, and pesos. These coins are minted in gold and silver, although not pure gold and silver, so they carry value equivalent to their gold and silver weight. There are many, many patterns, each displaying excellent examples of Egyptian artwork. The Egyptian government limits the mintage of each design, hoping to increase value. In general, there are enough coins to go around, so the value is basically the value due to bullion content.

Most coins carry dates in Gregorian (AD) and Hijra (AH) calendars. The Gregorian dates are Western dates and the Hijra dates are Muslim dates, about 600 years earlier than Gregorian. The numerals used are Eastern Arabic, as shown in our conversion table.

With the hundreds of different patterns, we can give only approximate guidance on value. Go to the library and get a coin catalog to find your precise design. In general, here is how the gold and silver content go:

GOLD COINS APPROXIMATELY 22 MM DIAMETER:
approximate gold content is 0.25 troy ounces
1994 50 pounds has 0.73 ounces
1999 50 pounds has 0.34 ounces

GOLD COINS APPROXIMATELY 30 MM DIAMETER:
approximate gold content is 0.5 ounces

GOLD COINS APPROXIMATELY 33 MM DIAMETER:
approximate gold content is 0.75 ounces

SILVER COINS APPROXIMATELY 35 MM DIAMETER:
thin coins: approximate silver content is 0.4 ounces
thick coins: approximate silver content is 0.7 ounces

To get a value, multiply the precious metal content by the current price of the metal. Look up gold and silver prices per troy ounce at kitco.com. At the time of this writing, for instance, the price of silver is $27.34 US dollars per troy ounce. (Tomorrow it will be different. Look it up.) A 5 pound coin with 0.7 ounces of silver is worth, therefore, 0.7 x 27.34 = $19.