1 Pound 20th Anniversary of October War Victory

Egypt's framing of the 1973 war as a victory requires some unpacking. The October War — launched on Yom Kippur against Israeli-held Sinai — did catch Israeli forces off guard, and Egyptian troops successfully crossed the Bar-Lev Line in the opening days. By the time the ceasefire was brokered, however, Israeli armor had encircled the Egyptian Third Army. Sadat's government nonetheless declared the crossing itself the strategic triumph, and that political reinterpretation became official doctrine, enshrined in commemorative issues like this one through the following decades.

KM#810 was struck at relatively low mintage for a modern Egyptian silver issue, most examples turning up in original packaging from state gift sets.