King Farouk of Egypt

WillieBoyd2 · February 13, 2011 6:03AM

King Farouk of Egypt was, among other things, a coin collector.

Egypt 2 Piastres, 1944, King Farouk

He amassed a huge collection of coins by the early 1950's.

A popular uprisng and military coup removed him from office in 1952.

The new Egyptian government hired European coin dealers to sell off his
collection, including many US gold coins.

The recent revolution which toppled Pres. Mubarak was very similar
to the 1952 revolution, but the newscasters keep calling it "new" and
saying that now "Egypt is free".

Did Pres. Mubarak collect coins?

Andres · February 13, 2011 7:37AM

Mubarak collected US dollars,
he gathered about 70 billion in 30 years

making him one of the richest man in the world.

Faroek was the only legitimate owner of a 1933 Gaudens double eagle.

theboz11 · February 13, 2011 7:46AM

Farouk was not particularly careful handling his coins, I understand.

SYRACUSIAN · February 13, 2011 7:49AM

Mumbarak is a sick evolution of the Muslim Brotherhood, who initially ousted Farouk,
<-------whom you see here,
brought Nasser, ousted the Greeks and other prosperous communities
nationalized everything, until the English and French stopped him at Suez,
then Saddat took his place and got killled in that military parade.
Mumbarak was VP of Saddat by then, and the "hero" of Yom Kipur.
Sad story, Egypt was very different in Farouk times,
much more prosperous, both for Greeks and other foreign communities as well as the Egyptians.

That's not to say that he was a good monarch.
But Mumbarak is something else, his son has already fleed the country, or else they'll treat him like they've treated Saddam Hussein.

Zohar · February 13, 2011 9:14AM

King Farouk the First of Egypt, who reigned from 1936 until 1952, was a prolific collector. His taste for the rare and unusual was the catalyst for his assemblage of a diverse collection of items from around the world, even including some unsavory "collectibles." His coin collection included an estimated 8,500 gold coins and medals. King Farouk made most of his coin purchases in the 1940s, in an era when a numismatic dollar (and an Egyptian pound) went a long way.

Several American dealers supplied the king with coins, but they soon discovered that a downside to selling to him was that it usually took a long time to receive payment, especially if the invoice totaled more than $10,000. The larger invoices had to be routed to the Egyptian treasury, significantly increasing the time it took for the payment to be received, whereas the king had the authority to authorize payment of the smaller invoices. Not surprisingly, the American dealers soon learned to limit the invoices to less than $10,000. When all was said and done, King Farouk had amassed one of the largest, most important collections of coins in the history of numismatics.

After the Egyptian military forced King Farouk to flee the country in 1952, the American coin dealers had a great interest in what was to become of the Farouk Collection. Abe Kosoff goes into great detail in his book concerning the pre-sale uncertainty and negotiations that took place. Eventually the Egyptian government established a sale date and the London firm of Baldwin & Co. was hired to describe the coins, with Sotheby & Co. publishing the catalog. The coins and medals volume was one of a set of Sotheby catalogs entitled The Palace Collections of Egypt , which offered several categories of the king's collectibles, but did not mention King Farouk by name.

Fred Baldwin, on the lawn of Koubbeh Palace, Cairo, 1954

Because Fred Baldwin had to catalog the coins in Cairo, under military guard, and in a short period of time, it was not possible to do the great collection justice. Due to its sheer size, most of the coins were sold in large lots (often with fifteen or twenty coins per lot), sorted by denomination, with a variety of dates and mintmarks. Thus, most lots had a combination of rare and common coins.

John J. Pittman examines a coin at the Farouk Auction, Cairo, 1954

A number of well-known American dealers and collectors attended the sale in Cairo. Dealers in attendance included Abe Kosoff, Sol Kaplan, Bob Schermerhorn, James Randall, Paul Wittlin, and Hans Schulman. Prominent collectors included John J. Pittman, Gaston DiBello, and Ambassador & Mrs. R. Henry Norweb.

A number of factors prevented the coins from reaching their optimum value at the auction. These included the remote location, the uncertain financial arrangements, the political instability, the large lots, and the awkward manner in which the coins were presented for lot viewing. Collectors such as John J. Pittman realized the true opportunity to acquire important pieces at "fire sale" prices and made the most of it. Mr. Pittman reportedly took out a second mortgage on his residence to finance the trip and his purchases, which turned out to be among the most significant of his numismatic career.

The sale was complicated by the fact that King Farouk had outstanding bills in excess of $300,000 from dealer Hans Schulman. After much uncertainty and following negotiations with the Egyptian government, an arrangement was made whereby Mr. Schulman was issued a credit in the amount of the due bills, against which auction purchases could be made. In order to recover his financial interest, Mr. Schulman became a major buyer at the auction, often allowing other dealers to obtain coins from his repurchased lots.

The Auction Catalog

nicholasz219 · February 13, 2011 11:32AM

What a timely string! I love it!

SYRACUSIAN · February 13, 2011 5:31PM

The Auction Catalog

That's all very precise Zohar.
You should all read Farouk's story, beyond the $20.
As for if he was lacquering his coins or not, the sale of that $20 1933, proved that he didn't, the coin was seen by PCGS experts and was orally graded MS65.

I have this auction catalog, tough to find. I got mine from Abe books.

Hyperion · February 13, 2011 11:34PM

<< <i>What a timely string! I love it! >>

absolutely!

WillieBoyd2 · February 13, 2011 11:55PM

I wonder if anyone here has a coin, gold or otherwise, which can be directly traced to King Farouk.

theboz11 · February 14, 2011 12:12AM

I have pieces from the collectors, ie Pittman, at that auction, but no way to tell if they came from the auction.

Bjorn · February 14, 2011 12:17AM

Good choice for an iconic Farouk coin - I always had a liking for the six- and eight-sided Egyptian coins.

RobP · February 14, 2011 12:23AM

<< <i>I wonder if anyone here has a coin, gold or otherwise, which can be directly traced to King Farouk.

>>

I don't have one, but if anyone is interested, item no. BM085 off Baldwin's latest fixed price list has the sixpence sized pattern struck in palladium by Graham from the collection at £2500. It has been lacquered.

lordmarcovan · February 14, 2011 3:43AM

I've had some Farouk pieces but never one of those two-piastres ones. I like the hexagonal shape.

Copper-nickel, I presume?

Dimitri- I never knew that your avatar was an older Farouk. How interesting. (I just thought it was some jovial looking fellow in a fez, haha)

SYRACUSIAN · February 14, 2011 4:05AM

But Rob, at the time the photo was taken, he was a jovial looking fellow with a fez. A jovial King, buying expensive gold $20s and other rare collectables with Egypt's money.

His father Fuad, also with a fez, was a bit less jovial and more serious. He wouldn't have imagined how quickly the monarchy would have been abolished because of his son.

questor54 · February 14, 2011 8:17AM

<< <i>I have pieces from the collectors, ie Pittman, at that auction, but no way to tell if they came from the auction.

>>

I only have one Pittman coin, a sort of nondescript Canadian half dollar. I would be very surprised if it came from The Palace Collection.

CollectorBob · February 14, 2011 8:33AM

Nice!

CollectorBob · February 14, 2011 8:34AM

This is why I love this board! Thank you all so much for all your invaluable contributions.

Bjorn · February 14, 2011 12:18PM

<< <i>I've had some Farouk pieces but never one of those two-piastres ones. I like the hexagonal shape.

Copper-nickel, I presume?

Dimitri- I never knew that your avatar was an older Farouk. How interesting. (I just thought it was some jovial looking fellow in a fez, haha) >>

.500 silver actually, if I remember correctly. They typically show up quite worn as well, indicating that many saw a good amount of circulation.

-Bjorn

savoyspecial · February 14, 2011 12:23PM

the book Abe Kosoff Remembers has a few great entries devoted to the Farouk sale

fitch76 · February 16, 2011 12:16AM

What Farouk wanted, he got, and Farouk was a world class coin collector

King Farouk of Egypt

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