Egypt 1, 2, and 5 Piastres with Tughra and Pyramids 1984

Most everyone can identify the pyramids on this Egyptian coin, but some people may not know about the tughra (sometimes spelled toughra) on the non-pyramid side. A tughra is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of a sultan affixed to all official documents and correspondence. It was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign. The tughra was designed at the beginning of the sultan's reign and drawn by the court calligrapher. The first tughra belonged to Orhan I (1284 to 1359AD), the second ruler of the Ottoman Empire.

The 1, 2, and 5 piastre coins of 1984AD (Islamic date AH1404) are made of aluminum-bronze and carry the pyramids and tughra patterns, although the tughra side looks different for each denomination. There are even variations in the tughra side for the same denomination.

All these coins -- all denominations and all variations -- are made of non-precious metal and are worth very little. Only when the coin is fully uncirculated, like the one in our picture, will a collector pay more than a few US cents:

ALL DENOMINATIONS AND VARIATIONS:
worn: less than $1 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: less than $1
well preserved: less than $1
fully uncirculated: $2
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