The official currency of Egypt It is the Egyptian pound. In this article, we give you important information about this currency. In addition, we tell you its history and we indicate its equivalence with the currencies of other countries.

Below you have an index with all the points that we are going to deal with in this article.

Article Index

The currency of Egypt: information about the Egyptian pound

History

The first time a currency began to be used in the territory it occupies today Egypt It was in the fourth century BC, in the empire of Ancient Egypt. At this time, there were bronze, silver and gold coins.



Over the centuries, in Egypt there was no specific currency, only some local ones. However, two years after a decree of 1834, coins began to be minted whose pattern was based on the value of silver and gold.

Officially, an Egyptian pound was equal to one hundred piastres, and one piastre to forty para. This last fractional coin disappeared in 1885 and the piastra was divided into tenths, known since 1916 as milliemes.

As of 1885, it was decided to use the gold pattern, so the Egyptian gold pound was created. As there were no coins, it was allowed to pay with other foreign currencies such as pound sterling.

The first banknotes were produced in 1899 by the National Bank of Egypt. These notes were convertible into gold until 1914, when they became the legal tender and, therefore, gold coins were no longer used.

The first time watermarked banknotes were produced was in 1930. Also, since 1960, the country's banknotes have been produced by Central Bank of EgyptAlthough the Egyptian government is also responsible for creating some.

Current currency

Currently, the currency of use in Egypt is the Egyptian pound. This is divided into 100 feet or 1.000 milliemes. Its code is EGP and its abbreviation LE, which comes from French Egyptian book. As for its symbol, E £ is usually used. In Egyptian, the currency is called ginaih.



Today we find 25 and 50 piastres, and 1 pound metal coins. As for the banknotes, there are 25 and 50 piastres, and 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 pounds.

In Egyptian coins and banknotes we find multiple references to the Ancient Egypt. For example, on the 50 piastres coin appears Cleopatra and in the one of 1 pound the mask of Tutankhamun.

As for the banknotes, in the 50 piastres we find the image of Ramses II, in the 1 pound the Egyptian temples of Abu Simbel and in the 100 pound the Great Sphinx of Giza, among others.

Exchange rate

This is the value of the Egyptian pound against other major world currencies:

  • EGP 1,00 = US $ 0,06 (USD)
  • 1,00 EGP = 1,03 Mexican pesos (MXN)
  • 1,00 EGP = 166,70 Colombian pesos (COP)
  • 1,00 EGP = 0,05 euros (EUR)
  • 1,00 EGP = 0,98 Argentine pesos (ARS)
  • 1,00 EGP = 36,31 Chilean pesos (CLP)
  • 1,00 EGP = 0,18 peruvian soles (PEN)
  • 1,00 EGP = 0,58 Venezuelan bolivars (VEF)
  • 1,00 EGP = 2,68 Dominican pesos (DOP)
  • 1,00 EGP = 32,37 Costa Rican colones (CRC)

In Egypt you can exchange your currency for the Egyptian pound at banks (which are open from Sunday to Thursday), exchange houses and hotels. You can also withdraw money directly from ATMs.

In some of the establishments it is allowed to pay with credit card. Also, in some stores they accept payment in euros or dollars.

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