Tucked away in vintage coin collections and now resurfacing online for up to USD 40 (EGP 1,990), Egypt’s five piastres coin from 1975 is not something most people even know exists. At its center is the recognizable and unmistakable profile of Queen Nefertiti, with the words “Women’s Year 1975” etched in Arabic on the coin.
So, why Nefertiti? Why that year? And what makes this tiny piece of metal worth revisiting today?
1975: The World’s First International Women’s Year
In 1975, the United Nations (UN) launched the first-ever International Women’s Year, kicking off what would become the UN Decade for Women. It was the first global effort to recognize the status, rights, and contributions of women, and Egypt took part in that moment with the symbolic gesture of creating a commemorative coin.
Why Nefertiti?
Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, one of the most famous women in ancient history, was far more than just the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, the king known for breaking away from Egypt’s old religious system of pantheism and introducing a new one that focused on just one sun god, the Aten.
Nefertiti was his partner in these changes and played a powerful role in both politics and religion. In fact, Nefertiti appears more frequently in ancient art and monuments than any other Egyptian queen. She is often shown making offerings to Aten, the sun god, whom her husband elevated to the center of worship, and appearing in battle scenes, a role usually reserved for kings, highlighting just how influential she truly was.
In many depictions, Nefertiti and Akhenaten are near equals, not just in size, but in posture, dress, and authority. Some scholars even argue she ruled as pharaoh after his death, under the name Neferneferuaten. Whether or not that is true, her influence was undeniable.
A Coin in Context
The 1975 coin was not created in isolation. It came on the heels of more than half a century of feminist activism in Egypt.
The movement began to take organized shape in the early 20th century, most notably with Huda Sha’arawi, a pioneering feminist who, in 1923, made headlines when she removed her veil in public at a Cairo train station.
The act was both symbolic and radical, sparking national debate and helping shift public attitudes around women’s rights. That same year, she founded the Egyptian Feminist Union, which advocated for girls’ education, access to healthcare, and legal reform.
At the same time, Egyptian women were also deeply involved in the country’s anti-colonial struggle, particularly against British occupation, which had gripped Egypt since the late 1800s. They marched in protests, organized boycotts, and demanded not only independence from foreign rule but also a greater role in shaping their society.
By the 1950s, those efforts were starting to pay off. In 1956, Egyptian women won the right to vote and run for office, a major milestone in their political journey.
Prior to the UN declaring 1975 as the International Women’s Year, Egyptian women had already spent decades building momentum. The Women’s Year coin, minted that same year, quietly echoed that progress, placing an ancient symbol of female power into the hands of a modern public.
Today, the coin is largely unknown, even among Egyptians. It occasionally appears for sale on platforms like Etsy or Amazon, often listed as “rare,” though no official record confirms how many were actually produced.
Still, the coin stands as a tangible snapshot of a moment in Egypt’s modern history, one where a centuries-old figure was used to represent contemporary conversations around women’s rights.
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