The ancient Egyptians had used precious metal as money by weight long before coins started to circulate in Egypt around 500 BC. Athenian owls were the most common coins in Egypt and the earliest Egyptian coins attempted to imitate the owls. After Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, the Ptolemaic Dynasty that ruled Egypt after Alexander's death, issued new coins for Egypt. The Ptolemys made Egypt a closd currency zone. Only the coins of the Ptolemies could circulate in Egypt. Egypt continued to issue local coins even after Egypt was incorporated into the Roman Empire. Roman coins gradually were introduced into Egypt and after 296 no Egyptian coins were minted, though Roman coins were issued in Alexandria. The Byzantine Emperor Justin I (518-27) reopened the Alexandria mint and issued some Byzantine gold solidi, but mainly bronze nummi.
The Persians ruled Egypt between 617 and 628, and in 640 Egypt was invaded by the forces of Islam, led by the Caliph ‘Umar (634-44). Byzantine coins continued to circulate in Egypt, but the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II (685-695) issued new gold coins that carried a portrait of Christ and Christian inscriptions. The Islamic rulers decided to replace the Byzantine coins with their own, and issued inscriptional Islamic dinars and dirhems soon after. The first Islamic coins were struck in Alexandria in 711. The ‘Abbasid caliphs (750-868), Tulunids (868-905), Ikhshidids (935-969), Fatimids (907-1171), Ayyubids (1171-1250) and Mamluks (1250-1517) all issued Islamic style coins in Egypt. Until the rise of the Mamluks gold was the principal coin of the realm, but under the Mamluks silver became increasingly important. As Europeans gained control over gold supplies in the 1400s, gold coins became scarcer.
The Ottoman Empire took control of Egypt in 1517. They continued to issue gold ashrafis and silver and copper coins at the Cairo mint, but the designs were changed to conform with other Ottoman coins. Egypt was part of the Ottoman Empire, but ruled by the Mamluks, when it was invaded by France in July 1798. The British expelled the French in 1801. The Suez Canal was begun in 1859 and opened in November 1869. British troops began occupying Egypt in 1882 in support of the Khedive, and on December 14, 1914, the Egypt Sultanate was made a British protectorate. The British ended its protedctorate on February 28, 1922, giving Egypt independence but with four stipulations affecting Sudan, the Suez Canal and the British military. Egypt gained its full independence on November 14, 1936, though the British continued their presence in Egypt until the Anglo-Egyptian treaty was repealed in 1952 and a republic was proclaimed on June 18, 1953. Egypt was briefly united with Syria from February 22, 1958 to September 28, 1961 as part of the United Arab Republic.
Ottoman Empire Piastres (XOTP) were used in Egypt until 1834. In 1835 Egypt's coinage was reformed when western coining machines were installed at the Cairo mint. The Ottoman Lira was divisible into 100 Piastres, 4000 Paras or 12,000 Aspers. In 1805, the Piastre of Account (EGA) was introduced, making the Piastre divisible into 33 Medini, 99 Aspers or 264 Burbes. Mohammed Ali reformed the financial system in 1834, setting 1 Egyptian Piastre/Qirsh (EGQ) divisible into 40 Para and equal to 1/100 Pound, and one Gold Pound (Talari) equal to 20 Silver Piastres. Egypt adopted the Gold Standard on November 14, 1885, setting the Egyptian Pound equal to 1.025 British Pounds Sterling, and divisible into 100 Piastres.
The National Bank of Egypt gained the right to issues banknotes following a decree on June 25, 1898, but the notes were not legal tender until 1914. The Egyptian Pound traded at a slight premium to the British Pound with 1 Pound Sterling equal to 0.975 Egyptian Pounds. The Egyptian government has issued some small denomination notes, and the Central Bank of Egypt became the note-issuing authority in 1961.
