1 Pound National Library and Archives

Egypt's Dar al-Kutub — the national library and archives — was founded by Khedive Ismail in 1870 and houses one of the most significant collections of Arabic manuscripts in the world, including texts predating the Islamic conquest. The institution moved to its current Corniche location in Cairo in 2010 after decades in a 19th-century building near Bab al-Khalq.

This bimetallic pound belongs to Egypt's ongoing commemorative circulation series honoring national institutions, issued as the country continued aggressive currency reform following the 2016 IMF-backed float of the Egyptian pound.