This Egyptian coin commemorates the third anniversary of the revolution which ousted the infamous King Farouk. Egypt Pound 1955 - Third anniversary of Egyptian Revolution Gold, 23mm, 8.48gm, 0.8750 (21 carat) This commemorative coin is about the same size as the British Sovereign. The Egyptian Revolution began on July 23, 1952 when a group of army officers, led by Mohammed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, staged a military coup and forced King Farouk to abdicate and leave the country. Among other things, King Farouk left behind a fabulous coin collection which was later sold by the new government. This coin has an image of the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II (BC 1279-1213) riding a chariot; the image is taken from an Abu Simbel wall relief depicting the battle of Kadesh (around BC 1274). It is interesting that the Egyptians put one Pharaoh on the coin commemorating the removal of another, but Rameses II was one of Egypt's greatest kings and Farouk was known for hanging out in nightclubs and grabbing what he could. King Farouk did like to drive fast and once ended up in a hospital after a crash.
Boy did he ever. He took a lot of pride in his coin collection. One can call him a lot of things, but he is definitely the original king of coins.
A lot of his coins were roughly handled and he is alleged to have carried them around in his pockets to show off - which is why even some of the prized coins show some handling. Even the 1933 Saint would not get a high grade if it wasn't a well known and pedigreed coin.
A good biography of King Farouk is Too Rich: The High Life and Tragic Death of King Farouk by William Stadiem, published in 1991. Farouk was an accumulator, he had collections of coins, stamps, labels steamed off of bottles, Walt Disney Uncle Scrooge comic books, naughty postcards, and many other items.
His (Farouk) character is portrayed in an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot......The Theft of the Royal Ruby. An petulant and spoiled young man seeking the return of his fathers gem.
I remember hearing that many of his coins were varnished, but I don't recall ever seeing any attributed to his collection that were actually varnished.
