Egypt 5 Pounds 1999

History

5 Pounds 1999, KM# 900, Egypt, Pharaonic Treasure / Ancient Egyptian Art, Mask of Tutankhamun

Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com

Description

Tutankhamun, Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen (c. 1342 – c. 1325 BC), commonly referred to as King Tut, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the 18th Dynasty (ruled c. 1334 – 1325 BC in the conventional chronology) during the New Kingdom of Egyptian history.

Tutankhamun took the throne at eight or nine years of age under the unprecedented viziership of his eventual successor, Ay, to whom he may have been related. He married his half-sister Ankhesenamun. Tutankhamun restored the Ancient Egyptian religion after its dissolution by his father, enriched and endowed the priestly orders of two important cults and began restoring old monuments damaged during the previous Amarna period. He moved his father's remains to the Valley of the Kings as well as moving the capital from Akhetaten to Thebes. Tutankhamun was physically disabled with a deformity of his left foot along with bone necrosis that required the use of a cane, several of which were found in his tomb. He had other health issues including scoliosis and had contracted several strains of malaria.

Obverse	Art (sculpture, painting etc.) Mask Costume (hat, dress etc.) Nemes Person (king, queen, tsar etc.) Tutankhamun Depicts the death mask of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 BC, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo). The inscription on the left. The face represents the pharaoh's standard image, and the same image was found by excavators elsewhere in the tomb, in particular in the guardian statues. He wears a nemes headcloth, topped by the royal insignia of a cobra (Wadjet) and vulture (Nekhbet), symbolising Tutankhamun's rule of both Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt respectively. The ears are pierced to hold earrings, a feature that appears to have been reserved for queens and children in almost all surviving ancient Egyptian works of art. The mask of Tutankhamun is one of the best-known works of art in the world. It is 54 centimetres (1.8 ft) tall, weighs over 10 kilograms (22 lb) or 321.5 Troy Ounces, and is decorated with semi-precious stones. An ancient spell from the Book of the Dead is inscribed in hieroglyphs on the mask's shoulders.
Reverse	Stylized state name (Arab Republic of Egypt) divides denomination in Arabic and English as well as the date in Arabic (Hijri) and Western (Georgian) calendars. Mintmark (FM) and abbreviation of state name (ARE) below. 1999 ١٩٩٩ 5 ٥ Pounds جنيهات جمهورية مصر العربية FM A.R.E.
Edge	Reeded (milled)