50 Pounds Mecca

Issued to commemorate the hajj, this gold piece belongs to a short run of Egyptian commemorative strikes from the 1980s produced under the authority of the Central Bank of Egypt. Egypt had been minting hajj-related issues sporadically since the 1970s, partly as a revenue mechanism and partly as a diplomatic gesture toward the Islamic world during a period when Sadat's peace treaty with Israel had severely strained Cairo's relationships across the Arab League.

The .875 fineness — traditional carat gold — follows the standard the Egyptian mint applied consistently to its commemorative gold program throughout this decade.