What is the Egyptian 50 piastres note?

It is the half-pound note of the Egyptian pound. One pound divides into 100 piastres, called qirsh in Arabic and abbreviated PT, short for piastre tarif. The denomination is as old as Egyptian paper money itself: when the National Bank of Egypt issued its first notes in 1899, a 50 piastres note was among them. The Central Bank of Egypt took over note issue in 1961, and its name is on the 50 piastres today.

If you are building an Egypt collection from scratch, our Egypt banknotes guide covers the pound's history from the 1834 decree onward. This post stays with one note.

What is on the Egyptian 50 piastres note?

The front shows Al-Azhar Mosque, with its minarets. The mosque was commissioned in 970 for the new Fatimid capital and dedicated in 972, and Wikipedia records it as the first mosque established in Cairo, a city later nicknamed the City of a Thousand Minarets. The front carries Arabic text and Eastern Arabic numerals, as every Egyptian note does.

The back turns to ancient Egypt, in English and Western Arabic numerals. PMG's catalogue describes a sculptured wall design at left, Ramesses II at center and an archaic seal at right. The banknotes.com gallery adds detail for the 1995 note with the same design: the upper part of a statue of Ramesses II, a vertical multicoloured band, lotus flowers and the sun boat, a pharaonic cartouche, and a drawing taken from the facade of a temple.

Ramesses II reigned from 1279 to 1213 BC as the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty. By our arithmetic, that puts close to 2,200 years between the king on the back and the mosque on the front.

Turn the note over and you cross more than two thousand years: from a Fatimid mosque to a pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty.

Why did Egypt bring back the 50 piastres note?

Because the country ran short of change. On 1 June 2006 Egypt introduced 50 piastres and one-pound coins dated 2005, the 50 piastres coin bearing the face of Cleopatra VII and the pound coin Tutankhamun's mask. The matching notes were phased out from around 2010 and 2011 in favour of the coins.

The coins did not settle the matter. In June 2016 the 25 piastres, 50 piastres and one-pound notes returned to circulation in response to a shortage of small change, according to Wikipedia's history of the pound. PMG's catalogue groups the notes of this period as the Central Bank of Egypt's 2014 to 2017 issue, and that is where our 2017 note sits.

What should you check when buying a 2017 50 piastres pack?

Planet Banknote has the 2017 50 piastres as packs of 100 consecutively numbered uncirculated notes. Here is what to look at in any pack:

1. The date, for the variety. PMG lists two 2017 dates for Pick 70: 5.1.2017 is P-70a and 8.1.2017 is P-70b. The printed date tells you which one you hold.
2. The series number, for replacements. Numista notes that series 400 and 500 are replacement series on the 50 piastres. A replacement note in a run is worth recording.
3. The window. PMG describes the current type with a see-through window carrying advanced security features. Every note in the pack should show it cleanly.
4. The serial run. One hundred consecutive notes should run without gaps from first to last. Our explainer on bank packs and consecutive runs shows how to check quickly.
5. Size. Wikipedia gives the 50 piastres as 135 by 70 mm, and banknotes.com measures the 1995 note at 134 by 70 mm. Notes in one pack should match each other exactly.

Which Egyptian note pairs well with the 50 piastres?

The one pound note. It came back into circulation alongside the 50 piastres in 2016, and its design completes the story on the back of the half pound. The banknotes.com gallery describes the 2016 to 2020 one pound with the Sultan Qait Bay Mosque in Cairo, dated to 1475, on the front and part of the facade of the Abu Simbel temple on the back.

Wikipedia names the temple complex of Abu Simbel among the biggest building works of Ramesses II himself. So the half pound shows the king, and the pound shows a temple he built: two consecutive denominations telling one story. We carry the 2016 one pound (P-71) in packs of 100 as well, which makes the pair easy to put side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many piastres are in an Egyptian pound?

One hundred. The piastre is called qirsh in Arabic and abbreviated PT, for piastre tarif. The pound was also once divided into 1,000 milliemes, a unit that is no longer used.

What is on the Egyptian 50 piastres note?

Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo on the front and Ramesses II on the back. The back also carries a sculptured wall design, a cartouche-style seal, lotus flowers and the sun boat, with English text, while the front is in Arabic.

Is the 50 piastres a coin or a note in Egypt?

Both. Egypt introduced a 50 piastres coin with Cleopatra VII on 1 June 2006 and phased out the note, then reintroduced the 50 piastres note in June 2016 because of a shortage of small change.

What is the Pick number of the 2017 Egypt 50 piastres?

Pick 70. PMG's guide lists two dated varieties: P-70a dated 5.1.2017 and P-70b dated 8.1.2017, both from the Central Bank of Egypt's 2014 to 2017 issue.

How do you spot a replacement Egyptian 50 piastres note?

Look at the series number. Numista's catalogue entry for the 50 piastres notes that series 400 and 500 are replacement series, used for notes printed to replace faulty ones.

Who is on the back of the Egyptian 50 piastres note?

Ramesses II, the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty, who reigned from 1279 to 1213 BC. He also built the Abu Simbel temple that appears on the back of the Egyptian one pound note.