Egyptian pound

50 Egyptian pound promissory note issued and hand-signed by Gen. Gordon during the Siege of Khartoum (26 April 1884)

The Egyptian pound (Arabic: جنيه مصري‎ Genēh Maṣri  Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ɡeˈneː(h) ˈmɑsˤɾi] or in Alexandrian accent: Geni Maṣri  [ˈɡeni ˈmɑsˤɾi]) (sign: E£ or ج.م; code: EGP) is the currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 piastres, or ersh (قرش  [ʔeɾʃ]; plural قروش  [ʔʊˈɾuːʃ]; Turkish: Kuruş), or 1,000 millimes (Arabic: مليم‎  [mælˈliːm]; French: Millime).

The ISO 4217 code is EGP. Locally, the abbreviation LE or L.E., which stands for livre égyptienne (French for Egyptian pound) is frequently used. E£ and £E are commonly used online. The name Genēh / Geni  [ɡeˈneː(h), ˈɡeni] is derived from the Guinea coin, which had almost the same value of 100 piastres at the end of the 19th century.

History

In 1834, a Khedival Decree was issued providing for the issuing of an Egyptian currency based on a bimetallic base, i.e.: based on gold and silver. The Egyptian pound, known as the geneih, was introduced, replacing the Egyptian piastre (ersh) as the chief unit of currency. The piastre continued to circulate as ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound, with the piastre subdivided into 40 para. In 1885, the para ceased to be issued, and the piastre was divided into tenths (عشر القرش 'oshr el-ersh). These tenths were renamed milliemes (malleem) in 1916.