Expert: Jim Lawniczak - 7/8/2007

Question
I have a coin and every website I have been on says it is egyptian it is 10 milliemes and has all the weird writting everyone has discribed.It is a little different than some though,it has a hole in the middle (it looks like it is supposed to be that way )and has the date 1917 .It also has some thing that looks like 1770 (but the 7's are backwards) I would like to know the value of this coin

Answer
Hello, Michele, I have checked my World Coin Catalog and I see the pieces you are speaking of -- these pieces were made during British Occupation.  They are holed in the middle and have a date (some 1916 some 1917) and this 1770 with backwards 7s.  There are 1 Millieme, 2, 4 and 10 pieces (4 different).  They appear to be fairly common, with none of the pieces having very large values (my catalog is out of date).  So, the first issue is which of the 4 amounts is your piece.  The second issue is what condition is it in (coins can vary in value tenfold or more depending on condition, and there is nothing you can do to improve condition, you will only reduce it).  

If you go to www.ebay.com and do a search for 1917 millieme, there are no current auctions, but some pieces will come up in the eBay store area.  Thus, there is a 10 milliemes piece now selling for $4.44, and you can see its condition by its picture (and compare it to yours).  Other buyers are asking for more from others.  You can try other searches (like Egypt coin etc) and see what comes up.  Jim Lawniczak