Egypt registers Ottoman coins as Islamic artifacts

By Mohamed al-Rayes

CAIRO (AA) – Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities on Wednesday said an old coin collection, some of them dating back to the Ottoman period, was registered as Islamic artifacts.

According to a statement, the ministry's permanent committee of Islamic and coptic antiquities registered a collection of coins which were at the General Treasury Department.

The collection consisted a variety of currencies -- gold and silver --, which included Egyptian and Ottoman coins, as well as a set of coins of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdulaziz al-Saud (1876-1953).

It also included gold coins of Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid (1823-1861), Sultan Mehmed III (1566-1603), Abdulhamid II (1842-1918) as well as Egyptian gold coins of the Muhammad Ali dynasty (1769-1849).