Obverse. Photo © Heritage Auctions
  • 5 Pounds 1955-1957, KM# 388, Egypt, 3rd Anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
  • 5 Pounds 1955-1957, KM# 388, Egypt, 3rd Anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
Description

The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 Coup d'état or 23 July revolution, began on 23 July 1952, by the Free Officers Movement, a group of army officers led by Mohammed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser to overthrow King Farouk and the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, and aimed at changing the political leadership in Egypt.

However, the movement had more political ambitions and soon moved to abolish the constitutional monarchy and aristocracy of Egypt and Sudan, establish a republic, end the British occupation of the country, and secure the independence of Sudan (previously governed as an Anglo-Egyptian Sudan). The revolutionary government adopted a staunchly nationalist, anti-imperialist agenda, which came to be expressed chiefly through Arab nationalism, and international non-alignment.

The revolution is commemorated each year on 23 July.

Coins were struck in yellow and red gold.

Obverse

Depicts pharaoh Ramesses II driving a war chariot. Inscription "Egypt" with hieroglyphic letters above, and "Revolution July 23 of 1952" in Arabic below.

Ramesses II (variously also spelled Rameses or Ramses, 'Ra is the one who bore him' or 'born of Ra', c. 1303 BC – 1213), also known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, itself the most powerful period of Ancient Egypt. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor".

Ramesses II led several military expeditions into the Levant, reasserting Egyptian control over Canaan. He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein. The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples, and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and used it as the main base for his campaigns in Syria.

At fourteen, he was appointed prince regent by his father, Seti I. He is believed to have taken the throne in his late teens and is known to have ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. Estimates of his age at death vary; 90 or 91 is considered most likely. Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented thirteen or fourteen Sed festivals (the first held after thirty years of a pharaoh's reign, and then, every three years) during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.

ثورة
٢٣ يوليه ١٩٥٢

Reverse

Depicts mirrored vulture wings and Egyptian cobra heads (symbols of Ancient Egypt) flanking the disk of the sun (God Amun Ra). The country name (Republic of Egypt), value and dates (Hegira and Gregorian) above.

The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) was represented in Egyptian mythology by the cobra-headed goddess Meretseger. A stylised Egyptian cobra—in the form of the uraeus representing the goddess Wadjet—was the symbol of sovereignty for the Pharaohs who incorporated it into their diadem.

جمهورية مصر
خمسة جنيهات
١٣٧٤ - ١٩٥٥

Edge
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Gold
Fineness 0.875
Weight 42.5 g
Diameter 38 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Cairo Mint

Related coins