Obverse. Image Courtesy of Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS.com)
  • 5 Pounds 1993, KM# 743, Egypt, Pharaonic Treasure / Ancient Egyptian Art, Goddess Serket
  • 5 Pounds 1993, KM# 743, Egypt, Pharaonic Treasure / Ancient Egyptian Art, Goddess Serket
Description

Serket (also known as Serqet, Selket, Selqet, Selcis, or Selkis) is the goddess of healing venomous stings and bites in Egyptian mythology, originally the deification of the scorpion. Her family life is unknown, but she is sometimes credited as the daughter of Neith and Khnum, making her a sister to Sobek and Apep.

Scorpion stings lead to paralysis and Serket's name describes this, as it means "(she who) tightens the throat"; however, Serket's name also can be read as meaning "(she who) causes the throat to breathe" and so, as well as being seen as stinging the unrighteous, Serket was seen as one who could cure scorpion stings and the effects of other venoms such as snakebites.

Obverse

Depicts the guardian goddess Serket protecting the gilded case housing the canopic shrine and jars of King Tutankhamun (18th Dynasty, Egyptian tomb treasure, 1323 BC).

The Egyptian goddess Serket is often depicted as a woman with a scorpion gracing her crown.

Canopic jars were used by the ancient Egyptians during the mummification process, to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from limestone, or were made of pottery. These jars were used by the ancient Egyptians from the time of the Old Kingdom, until the time of the Late Period or the Ptolemaic Period, by which time the viscera were simply wrapped and placed with the body. The viscera were not kept in a single canopic jar: each jar was reserved for specific organs. The term canopic reflects the mistaken association by early Egyptologists with the Greek legend of Canopus – the boat captain of Menelaus on the voyage to Troy – "who was buried at Canopus in the Delta where he was worshipped in the form of a jar". In alternative versions, the name derives from the location Canopus (now Abukir) in the western Nile Delta near Alexandria, where human-headed jars were worshipped as personifications of the god Osiris.

Reverse

Stylized state name (Arab Republic of Egypt) divides denomination in Arabic and English and abbreviation of state name (A.R.E.) below, the date in Arabic (Hijri) and Western (Georgian) divides by a vulture with open wings. Engraver's initials (ECC) below.

In Ancient Egypt, the vulture hieroglyph was the uniliteral sign used for the glottal sound (/ɑː/). The bird was held sacred to Isis in ancient Egyptian religion. The use of the vulture as a symbol of royalty in Egyptian culture and their protection by Pharaonic law made the species common on the streets of Egypt and gave rise to the name "pharaoh's chicken".

5 ٥ جمهورية مصر العربية
LE جـ
A.R.E.
1414 1993 ECC ١٤١٤ ١٩٩٣

Edge
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.999
Weight 22.5 g
Diameter 39 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Mexican Mint (Mo)

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