Money Matters

Currency and Exchange Egypt’s array of coins and banknotes is gradually becoming simplified as the old bills and coins pass out of circulation and into the hands of numismatists. The guinea (GEE-nay), or Egyptian pound (LE), is divided into 100 airsh, or piasters (pt). Technically, piasters are divided into 10 millims (mil-LEEMS), but the only vestige of this minuscule denomination is an extra zero to the right of the decimal point on some posted prices. Banknotes are color coded, printed with Arabic on one side and English on the other; the notes come in the following denominations: LE20 (green).

LE10 (red), LE5 (blue), LEI (brown), 50pt (red and brown), and 25pt (blue). All bills are roughly the same size. LE50 and LE100 notes are also issued in the new system, but they’re rare. In fact, it’s best to break your large bills into denominations of LEI and below because most taxi and bus drivers as well as street vendors cannot or will not make change. Coins come in denominations of lOpt and 20pt (both silver-colored-check the Arabic numbering) and 5pt (copper-colored). Hoard them, as they are useful for bus fares and other piddling expenses. Shopkeepers will often not bother with change below 25pt; fight for your right.