In recent years, the Egyptian government has been issuing several variations of the Egyptian one pound and 50 piasters coins. These variations commemorate the many successful projects the North African country had undertaken on its path for sustainable development. However, in light of the current global pandemic, and in honor of the medical staffs who have put their lives on the line to ensure the country’s safety, the government diverted from its recent trend and decided to issue new coins honoring healthcare workers.
On Friday, the Egyptian Minister of Finance, Mohammed Maait, announced the minting of a total of 15 million new coins. The design features healthcare workers with the engraving: “Egypt’s Medical Staffs”; the move seeks to immortalize the invaluable efforts of the country’s “White Army.” In addition, the government announced a 2.25-billion EGP raise to 600,000 workers within the healthcare sector.
Egypt honoring its healthcare workers comes after dozens of doctors and nurses have lost their lives during the country’s struggle against the coronavirus. Currently at the time of this article, COVID-19 infection cases in Egypt have reached a total of 169,000, while the number of deaths have amounted to 9,560.
From a design depicting the New Suez Canal to another celebrating the New Administrative Capital, so far there have been eight additional variations of the one pound and 50 piasters coins. This is besides the regular ones featuring the familiar faces of the boy King Tutankhamen, and the Hellenic Queen Cleopatra. The new coins honoring healthcare workers will be considered the 10th variation issued since the release of the one pound and 50 piasters coins.
With 10 million one EGP coins and five million 50 piasters coins, the latest feature is one of a kind in both its design and message.
