The Cairo Mint Plate

Cairo Mint Plate

Being the national mint of any country is to be part of a very competitive business. Some mints are happy to just be part of their respective government. Other larger mints in this modern era are run like a business with the goal of making a profit. Many small governments that needed to issue coins contracted the production of their coinage to one of the major mints, often along the old colonial lines, but even that market was limited so that the mints started making private medals and non-circulation legal tender coins. This market did so well that even private players like the Franklin Mint and the Pobjoy Mint became major contenders on the world market. In such times advertising becomes critical. The best example of mint advertising that I am familiar with is this bronze plate issued by Egypt’s Cairo Mint in 1983. This plate is nearly 10 inches in diameter and is made with a hanger on the reverse. The intricate Egyptian design is copper-gold and silver on black. The mint building is depicted in the center and ten Egyptian commemorative coin designs decorate the edges along with English and Arabic words listing the various products made by the mint. The Egyptian mint’s distributor was a class act and dealing with him was pleasure. They always kept me well informed with accurate information which is more than I could say for some of the other mints I had to deal with.