Catalog
5 Piastres
| Issuer | Egyptian Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Emergency banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT CURRENCY NOTE الحكومة المصرية السلطانية أوراق عملية رسمية FIVE PIASTRES خمسة قروش صاغ ISSUED UNDER DECREE حرر هذا السند بمقتضى المرسوم السلطانى وزير المالية MINISTER OF FINANCE |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in blue, with a dense symmetrical guilloche background forming an elaborate central vignette of two confronting Sphinxes resting on plinths, flanking a central octagonal rosette bearing the numeral '5'. Two stylised lotus flowers rise above the outer edges of the composition, and the denomination appears in both English and Arabic within a titled panel at the top. The numeral '5' with 'PIASTRES' is repeated in the lower left corner and its Arabic equivalent in the lower right, set within ornamental frames. |
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| Comments |
Egypt's small-denomination government notes of this period were issued under British occupation, with the Egyptian Government — rather than the National Bank of Egypt — serving as the nominal authority for low-value paper. The distinction mattered politically: the National Bank held the prestige issues while the government series handled the fractional denominations that silver coin shortages had made necessary, particularly acute during the war years when metal coinage was being hoarded or melted across the region.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the plate work in London. Wartime shipping and supply disruptions meant delivery and distribution could lag well behind the date of printing.