Egypt 1 Pound 1998

History

1 Pound 1998, KM# 859, Egypt, Death of Shaykh Al-Sha'raawi

Obverse. Image Courtesy of Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS.com)

Description

Muhammad Metwalli al-Sha'rawi (Arabic: محمد متولي الشعراوي) (1911– 1998) was a Islamic scholar, former Egyptian minister of Endowments and Muslim jurist. He has been called one of Egypt's most popular and successful Islamic preachers, and one of the most-prominent symbols of popular Egyptian culture in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

On June 17, 1998, al-Sha'rawi died with little known about the details surrounding his death. Reportedly more than a million mourners packed Cairo's streets in a display of grief.

Obverse	Person (religious figure) Shaykh Al-Sha'raawi Depicts a bust of Shaykh Al-Sha'raawi facing holding open Holy Quran. The Quran, also a romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God (Allah). It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature.
Reverse	Book Quran Geography & astronomy Sun Depicts the Holy Quran over country name "Arab Republic of Egypt" and behind it raising sun, denomination divides dates (Hegira and Gregorian) below. Inscription "Commemorative of Imam of the Preachers Sheikh Muhammad Metwalli Al-Sha'raawi" above. تذكار إمام الدعاة الشيخ محمد متولي الشعراوي جمهورية مصر العربية ١٤١٩ واحد جنيه ١٩٩٨
Edge	Reeded (milled)