Egyptian Pharoah

While reviewing my bank-note collection, I noticed that the most popular video on my YouTube channel, Numismatic Notes with Benjamin, is about an Egyptian 10-pound note. As I pondered this, I pulled out this particular note to see why it has captured the attention of so many.

Popular Note 

The 2015-dated note, printed by the Central Bank of Egypt, really is beautiful. Perhaps the popularity of my video can be attributed to the fact that I acquired this note while I was in Egypt. Maybe my enthusiasm for things I have seen in person is contagious.

Printed in a variety of colors that include purples, yellows, and browns, this detailed note measures 150mm x 70mm. On the front is the diorite statue of King Chephran (r. 2472-2448 B.C.), also known as Khafre, with a falcon. He is wearing the royal linen headdress, known as the nemes, and a false beard, both of which symbolize kingship. The ruler is also shown to the right on a watermark. 

Honoring Horus

Before my trip to Egypt, I had only seen this statue on bank notes. Imagine my surprise at seeing the life-size sculpture, which is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

From the front you cannot even see that the god Horus, portrayed as a falcon, is protecting the king’s thoughts, or the back of his head. As the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and the sky, Horus is a powerful deity.

Horus-related images are repeated on this note, and the eye of Horus is used as a registration device. I have always found this to be of interest, since almost all of us of a certain generation have seen a stylized form of this eye, even here in the United States. When doctors used to give out paper prescriptions to take to the pharmacy, they would hand patients a signed paper slip. Somewhere on the note would be an Rx, which looked like a capital R with the supporting leg crossed to form an X. This symbol is actually a stylized eye of Horus! Who knew? As a child, I was aware of the Rx symbol, but I certainly did not know what the lettering meant or from where it originated.

When you turn this note over, you will see the Al-Rifa’i Mosque, or Royal Mosque, in Cairo. Indeed, it is the final resting place for the Egyptian Kings Farouk and Fuad I. Interestingly enough, it is also home to the tomb of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who so far is the last shah of Iran. This mosque is located close to the citadel and is opposite the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan.

Magical Egypt

Egypt is full of magical, mysterious, and historical treasures. I had so much fun writing in my journal when I visited Egypt. So many historical events took place there that are important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims—overlapping and appreciated by members of all three religions.

 Additional research revealed some more facts about King Khafre. The son of Khufu, Khafre was the third king of the 4th dynasty, and his reign lasted 25 years. If you ever visit the Pyramids at Giza, his pyramid is the second one. Of additional interest was the way the statue was carved. King Khafre is depicted enthroned, which symbolizes more than you might expect. In this position, Khafre represents the god Osiris, and the throne upon which he sits represents his wife, the goddess Isis. Their son, Horus, guards the king as a falcon. Earlier Egypt notes showed the statue from a different angle and also
presented an interior view of the mosque. 

This is not an expensive note, and examples are plentiful in the marketplace. Collectors of coins and bank notes with themes relating to pharaohs, kings, gods, goddesses, Egypt, falcons, mosques, headdresses, statues, thrones, burial sites, doctors, eyes, royalty, Khafre, Osiris, Isis, and Horus will want to add this Egyptian 10-pound note to their African numismatic collection.

You can watch the video about this fantastic note on my YouTube channel. Feel free to cuss or
discuss this note. Have a jewel of a day! 

A version of this article appears in the November 2024 issue of The Numismatist (money.org)