1 Pound Cairo Opera House

Egypt struck this piece to mark the opening of the new Cairo Opera House on the island of Gezira in October 1988 — itself a replacement for the original opera house that burned to the ground in 1971 after being converted into a parking facility following the 1967 war. The new complex was built with Japanese technical and financial assistance, a partnership that generated its own political commentary at the time.

The .875 fineness places it in the traditional 21-karat standard long used for Egyptian gold issues rather than the .900 common to most European commemoratives.