Egyptian Musuem to Display Historical Currencies

By: Ali Abu-Dashish 

CAIRO, Dec. 11 (SEE)- For the first time, The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir will showcase three monumental collections of coins that were stored in the coins department, one collection per week. 

The antiques were used in the barter system including silver pieces of different sizes and weights, Athenian coins and a coin known as the ‘Athens cut coin.’

This comes within the Ministry of Antiquities’ initiative that started a year ago to highlight three archaeological pieces of its holdings, whether they were in stores, displayed in an invisible area, or a piece recovered from abroad.

Sabah Al Razek, director general of the Egyptian Museum, pointed out that the selected pieces are silver coins that were cut to be prepared for a certain weight to complete the barter process. “This method was the primitive form of trade between people. It was necessary to use an intermediary agent to exchange the value of goods, namely metals, especially precious metals such as gold and silver, which do not rust or damage.”

Actually, small pieces of valuable metals were used and sealed with a distinctive label to ensure its weight and this step was the first appearance of the idea of ​​currency in its primitive sense.

Abdul Razek added that the displayed Athenian coins are an example of the last step in the evolution of currencies. “The head had Athens’ face engraved and the tail had the drawing of an  owl. Some coins have holes that may be a hollow used to test the weight of the piece or just a seal.”

FYI, Athens’ cut coin, was shaped in this way to fill a gap of a specific weight in the barter system.