Egypt 5 Pounds 1999

History

5 Pounds 1999, KM# 899, Egypt, Pharaonic Treasure / Ancient Egyptian Art, Colossus of Ramesses II

Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com

Description

Ramesses II ('Ra is the one who bore him' or 'born of Ra', c. 1303– 1213 BC; reigned 1279–1213 BC), 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".

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. On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings; his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Egyptian Museum.

Obverse	Art (sculpture, painting etc.) Sculpture Crown, jewelry Pschent (Double Crown of Egypt) Person (king, queen, tsar etc.) Ramesses II the Great Depicts two statues of Ramses II. Abu Simbel is two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. They serve as a lasting monument to the pharaoh Ramesses II. This commemorates his victory at the Battle of Kadesh. Their huge external rock relief figures have become iconic. The single entrance is flanked by four colossal, 20 m (66 ft) statues, each representing Ramesses II seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The statue to the immediate left of the entrance was damaged in an earthquake, causing the head and torso to fall away; these fallen pieces were not restored but placed at the statue's feet in the positions originally found.
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)