Unknown Egyptian currency

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In Russia - the ruble, shekel - in Israel, "bunnies" - in Belarus, and which one is valid

Government currency in Egypt? Surprisingly, despite the popularity of this country among our travelers, not many people can immediately answer this question.

In order to somewhat fill this minor gap in knowledge, this article was written. In it we will talk about the history of the monetary units of one of the oldest states in the world.

The beginning of the story

The country showed the first signs of statehood in the middle of the 6th century BC, although the settlement of the territory began much earlier - in the 10th century BC. It was at the dawn of the 5th century that two kingdoms were born here, which two centuries later appeared as a single country.

During the period of the highest flowering of Egyptian civilization (c. 1-2 centuries BC), metal ingots weighing about 91 grams were considered as money in the country. Otherwise they were called "Debens". Gold and silver were used as the material for their manufacture. A feature of the deben was the possibility of dividing it into 10 equal parts. They paid for imported goods or for purchases of household items andanimals. This was the first Egyptian currency.

Economic recovery, strengthening of the country's foreign trade relations, led to the emergence of a new monetary equivalent - uten - a copper spiral twisted in a special way. This currency of Egypt was used for some time along with debens.

Surprisingly, in subsequent years, the development of the financial system is literally “frozen”, and most of the relationships in the economic sphere are based on subsistence products, exchange goods and forced labor. This is probably due to the fact that the country was in turn a colony of great empires of different eras, including its occupation and subsequent colonization by Great Britain. Finding information about what Egyptian currency was in place for several centuries, until the beginning of the 19th century, turned out to be quite difficult.

Modern money

The state currency of Egypt since 1834 is the Egyptian pound, whose coin is the Egyptian piastres (1 EGP or LE=100 piastres). In relation to American banknotes, the Egyptian pound is related as 1 $: 4, 5 - 6LE. At the same time, local merchants and institutions provide customers with the opportunity to pay in US dollars. However, at the same time, the exchange rate can very noticeably change not in favor of the client, and you won’t have to count on getting change.

The import of foreign money into the country is not limited, but Egypt's own currency is prohibited for import.

Bank cards of most international systems are not prohibited andcan be used, but this statement is true only for large tourist centers. It will be extremely difficult to find an ATM or an electronic device for paying by card in the periphery.

It is better to exchange money in banks or airports, since such services do not always work in hotels, and the exchange rate can differ significantly from the bank one. Moreover, it is necessary to avoid street money changers who do not disdain by any means of "honest taking" money from tourists.