Egypt 5 Pounds 1984

History

5 Pounds 1984, KM# 561, Egypt, 50th Anniversary of Egyptian Radio Broadcasting

Obverse. Photo © Monetnik.ru

Description

Radio broadcasting in Egypt began in the 20th century, in 1924 as privately owned and operated community stations. Later, in 1934 private ownership and operation were abolished and radio broadcasting was nationalized ever since.

By the early 1990s, Egypt had only 4 FM stations in Greater Cairo (2 in Alexandria), but the number increased to 6 in Greater Cairo (4 in Alexandria) by the end of the decade. The increase in the number was merely a rebroadcast of the already AM radio stations. In 2000, AM stations (on the medium wave band) started a phase of simulcasting to FM band, as of 2013, only one or two stations broadcast on AM without FM simulcasts.

All the local radio stations have always been publicly owned, however, state-controlled which make them in practice, stated owned, with the exception of the apolitical private radio station at El Gouna resort, named El Gouna Radio ("Lagoon Radio"). All broadcast media are somehow state controlled, even if partly or fully private.

Obverse	Construction (building, bridge etc.) Television building Discovery, invention, technology Radio Depicts Maspero television building and the logo of Egyptian Radio Broadcasting above the building between dates (1934 - 1984). Designer's mark below. Ornamental circle follows the rim. Maspero is the name of the huge building on the bank of the Nile river in Cairo, Egypt. It is the headquarters of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (formerly the Arab Radio and Television Union, the oldest state-run broadcasting organisation in the Arab World and Africa. Gamal Abdel Nasser, the President of the United Arab Republic (of which Egypt was then a part) ordered the construction of the building in August 1959. The first broadcast from Maspero commenced on 21 July 1960 with the country's introduction of television on the eighth anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. It was built on an area of 12,000 square metres, with a budget of 108 000 Egyptian pounds. The building was named after the French archaeologist Gaston Maspero, who was the chairman of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority. ١٩٣٤ ١٩٨٤
Reverse	Denomination in mirrored stylized flowers, dates (Hegira and Gregorian) below, calligraphic art state name "Arab Republic of Egypt" in the centre, the inscription "The Gold Jubilee of Broadcast" above. العيد الذهبي للاذاعة جمهورية مصر العربية ١٩٨٤ - ١٤٠٤
Edge	Reeded (milled)