Perhaps Egyptian, or Algerian? I am obviously guessing. ~39.85mm, ~28.1grams, reeded edge. Very skillfully applied pin-back, but it was such a beautiful coin! I note the date on the obverse is not the same as the date on the reverse; that long ago, I'm surprised to the dates side-by-side on the reverse, numerals and script. Does that indicate the commemoration of an event, or the reign of a monarch? Thanks! wlw
The date on the front, AH 1333, is the Ascension date, or the date Hussein Kamil ascended the throne. That date will stay the same throughout Kamil's reign. That date only changes when the ruler changes. The date(s) and denomination(s) are on the back in both English and Arabic. The Gregorian calendar year of 1916 corresponds with the Arabic year of 1335. Compare the numbers and words you can read on the left of the vertical vine with the Arabic numbers and words on the right side of the vine. They mean the same.With practice you can learn to recognize the different Arabic words for different coin names and denominations. Piastres is actually a French monetary denomination. They used it throughout their colonies such as in North Africa and in Indo China. Later, after Egypt came under British influence, Egypt adopted the Pound for some monetary uses. As I've often said, you can learn about a nation's history through its coins. Here is a site that will, hopefully, help you decipher the Arabic numbers. reading-arabic-numbers-and-dates.html and another : Arabic.htm What knowledge of Arabic I have is self-taught through researching my own coins and it is certainly not perfect. There are other members who can help you and explain things better than I. Good Luck !
Thanks, Hookman...and as well for the links! I have a daughter-in-law who works with Farsi & another variant for the Navy...but we don'y mix her business with my pleasure so I can't lean on her middle-eastern language skills. I'm grateful, good Sir...wlw