Egyptian banknotes that never saw the light of day – Part 1

Egyptian banknote experiences

In 2017, specifically between September 27 and 29, Egyptian banknotes were displayed at an auction house. Spink Spink The renowned London auction featured a number of archival photographs of experimental Egyptian banknotes that never saw the light of day. These experiments depicted Egyptian banknotes designed from the beginning of Egyptian banking until the 1950s, and were preserved in the archives of Bradbury Wilkinson. We begin with the early period of Egyptian banknotes and the initial attempts to issue Egyptian paper money during 1898 and 1899.

hundred Qirsh, August 10, 1898

An archival image of an Egyptian banknote, specifically a 100-piaster note issued by the National Bank of Egypt, dated August 10, 1898. It is black and white, with the Sphinx visible at the top left and the word “value” in Arabic at the top right. The value is in the middle and at the bottom left, and it is considered the oldest recorded example of an Egyptian banknote design.

At this stage, there was no such thing as the Egyptian pound, so the piastre was used for the currency. This design was clearly inspired by the £5 English White banknote, replacing the short article on Britain with the Sphinx. The coin sold for £800.

Five hundred piasters, August 10, 1898

Archival photograph, front and back of a 500-piaster coin, August 10, 1898, black and white, depicting a woman and two children to the left, with the value in the center. The coin sold for £800.

One hundred piastres, January 1, 1899

Archival image of a 100-piastre note, January 1, 1899, black and white, with the Sphinx in the center, the value at the center and corners. This design clearly evolved from the 100-piastre note to the 50-piastre note issued in 1899. The size of the banknote is slightly different, but all the design elements are present.

This included a Sphinx in the middle of the note, and the piece sold for £1,000.

Five hundred piasters, January 1, 1899

Archival image of a 500-piastre note, January 1, 1899, black and white, showing the Philae Temple and a felucca on the left, the value at the upper right and left corners. This note contains an image of a felucca (a Nile sailing boat) on the left, very similar to the one ultimately used in the 1899 Egyptian pound issue. The piece sold for £800.

Five hundred piasters, January 1, 1899

Archival photograph of a 500-piastre coin, January 1, 1899, black and white, featuring a metaphorical Virgin and two children on the left, with the value in the center (left) and lower right. This is a further development of the 1898 design of the 500-piastre coin from the year above, but with the values in Arabic. It was sold for £1,000.

One thousand piasters, January 1, 1899

National Bank of Egypt, Obverse: Archival photograph of a 1000 piastre note, January 1, 1899, black and white, depicting an allegorical Virgin Mary and two children in the center, with the denomination on the left and right. A fairly generic design, none of which was used for subsequent Egyptian banknotes. However, it is interesting because it bears the signature of Palmer, who signed Egyptian banknotes during that period. The note sold for £800.

Five thousand piasters, January 1, 1899

Archival image of a 5000 piastre note, January 1, 1899, black and white, showing the pyramids and palm trees on the left, with the value placed in the middle and on the right, top left and right and bottom.

A complex and well-thought-out design, featuring pyramids on the left, was adapted and used on the 1899 £5 note, where almost all elements of the design were retained. It sold for £1100.

Ten thousand piasters, January 1, 1899

Archival image of the 10,000 piastre note, dated January 1, 1899, black and white, showing two camels in the center, with the value placed to the left and corners. As with the 5,000 piastre note above, this design was adapted and used on another denomination, in this case, the Egyptian pound issued in 1899. Although the actual design was slightly scaled down, the basic elements remained the same, and it sold for £1,400.