Obverse. Photo © currencypalace
  • 100 Pounds 2022, Egypt, 200th Anniversary of Egyptology
  • 100 Pounds 2022, Egypt, 200th Anniversary of Egyptology
Description

Egyptology (from Egypt and Greek -λογία, -logia; Arabic: علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the 4th century AD. A practitioner of the discipline is an "Egyptologist".

The earliest explorers of ancient Egypt were the ancient Egyptians themselves. Inspired by a dream he had, Thutmose IV led an excavation of the Great Sphinx of Giza and inscribed a description of the dream on the Dream Stele. Less than two centuries later, Prince Khaemweset, fourth son of Ramesses II, would gain fame for identifying and restoring historic buildings, tombs and temples, including pyramids; and has subsequently been described as the first Egyptologist.

In 1822, the respective Egyptian hieroglyphs were transliterated by Jean-François Champollion, marking the beginning of modern Egyptology. With increasing knowledge of Egyptian writing, the study of ancient Egypt was able to proceed with greater academic rigour.

Designer: Thabet

Obverse

Depicts the Rosetta Stone, behind it radiant sun within a circle and the inscription "200 Years of Egyptology" in English and Arabic, dates on both sides, engraver's name below.

The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts respectively, while the bottom is in Ancient Greek. The decree has only minor differences between the three versions, making the Rosetta Stone key to deciphering the Egyptian scripts.

The stone was carved during the Hellenistic period and is believed to have originally been displayed within a temple, possibly at Sais. It was probably moved in late antiquity or during the Mamluk period, and was eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta. It was found there in July 1799 by French officer Pierre-François Bouchard during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. It was the first Ancient Egyptian bilingual text recovered in modern times, and it aroused widespread public interest with its potential to decipher this previously untranslated hieroglyphic script. Lithographic copies and plaster casts soon began circulating among European museums and scholars. When the British defeated the French they took the stone to London under the Capitulation of Alexandria in 1801. Since 1802, it has been on public display at the British Museum almost continuously and is its most visited object.

200 YEARS OF EGYPTOLOGY
1822 2022
٢٠٠ عام على علم المصريات
ثابت

Reverse

State name above, denomination within a circle (Arabic and English), and year of issue in Gregorian and Hijri calendar years (both in Arabic).

جمهورية مصر العربية
١٠٠
جنيه
١٤٤٣هـ ٢٠٢٢م
ONE HUNDRED POUNDS

Edge

100 Pounds

200th Anniversary of Egyptology

KM#
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.720
Weight 30 g
Diameter 37 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Cairo Mint

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