The Monetary System And the Coins’ Mint House in Egypt during the Mamluk Sultans' Era (648 –923 AH / 1250 – 1517 AD)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Abstract

Money is the basis of sales’ prices and business and wages rating, and others in all life affairs, especially what is concerned with financial transactions in the country, thus it was necessary to develop a new monetary policy to Promote economy, to increase the country progress, then it establish a house of money mintage, Stuck coins out, with qualities and with specific correct proportions supervised by the Mohtasib who is in charge of all financial and commercial transactions in the Mamluk era.
Earlier before, all the Cash money from gold and silver coins, Egypt knew money such as there were transactions by the "Miskals" of gold and silver that were famous by different names and weights, like the adequate black Derhims that were made by the few of silver and mostly by Copper.
As the result of the existence of Goods and things of a few purchasing power like vegetables and fruits and the similar, that are sold by less than a quarter of the price of Derhim, yet to reach to the level or less than silver, the nation decided to form currencies from copper metal as it is relatively cheap, this coin was called “Follies” that got conducted rates and was minted in the house of money mintage, like miskals of Gold Dinars, or Silver Derhims.
But money was cheated as the corrupt benefit of currency differences that the Sultans were minting in the house of money minting then to spread into markets to stand on with all commercial transactions and others in the country.
Sultans were dealing with the foreign currencies like the French Franks, and the “Ducat” that were minted in Venice in Italy, to achieve the mutual commercial cooperation with the European nations.
Metal cash was one of the most precious coins that were used by Mamluk Sultans, specially what the Sultan AL-Zahir Beybars used in (658 - 676 Hj/ 1260 – 1277  AD)
From the Zahrian Golden Dinars in which he engraved a Renc ( his symbol and emblem) which was the image of a lion, and he minted also the Zahirian Silver Derhims, and wrote on the coins the date and place of issuing it. Then the Mamluk coins consequenced later, the gold, the silver and the copper alike till the end of the Mamluk era.
All Sultan ascends the throne of the country eliminates what he minted from the coins, and mint a new coin carrying his name and engrave his emblem and his Renc on it, then write date of its issue and the place of issue, then he stop dealing with the prior minted money and let his coin is the only licensed coin to deal with into all nations’ transactions.