The piastre (Egyptian: ersh, قرش) was the currency of Egypt until 1834.
The piastre was based on the Turkish kuruş, introduced while Egypt was part of the Ottoman Empire.
In 1834, the pound, or gineih (Arabic), was introduced as the chief unit of currency, worth 100 piastre.
In 1885, the para ceased to be issued, and the piastre was divided into tenths (عشر القرش 'oshr el-ersh).
In the early 19th century, billon coins in denominations of 1 akçe, 1, 5, 10 and 20 para, and 1 qirsh were in circulation, along with gold coins denominated as ¼, ½, 1, 2 and 3 mahbub.