2018-12-07 Fri

On 4th December 2018, the Governor of Egypt’s central bank announced that new plastic or polymer notes will be issued and circulated by 2020. Officials believe that this move will improve cash flow in the market, reduce printing costs and will also increase the durability of banknotes.

The new polymer notes will feature the latest security features and it would be very difficult to counterfeit them. They will also include metameric inks as a security feature. Since polymer notes are more durable than paper notes, it will reduce production as well as replacement costs. Apart from that, they would be more environment-friendly.

The Ancient Egyptian civilisation was formed in around 3150 BC when Upper and Lower Egypt combined under the first pharaoh. The fertile banks of the Nile River were greatly responsible for Egypt’s prosperity. The Achaemenid Empire conquered the region in the 6th century BC. The Hellenistic Ptolemaic Kingdom was established by Alexander the Great in 332 BC after defeating the Achaemenid rulers. There were several conflicts and finally Egypt became one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. Various Muslim dynasties captured Egypt from 632 to 1517. European powers such as France and Britain occupied Egypt until the Egyptian revolution of 1919. The Kingdom of Egypt was formed but UK took care of foreign affairs and defence. British occupation ended with the Anglo-Egyptian agreement of 1954. The Republic of Egypt was founded in 1953 and the country became fully independent once again in 1956 after thousands of years.

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