Egypt, 1976 AD., 1975 reopening of the Suez Canal commemorative, 10 Piastres, KM 452.

Egypt, 1975 reopening of the Suez Canal commemorative, 1976 AD.,
10 Piastres (ø 26,8 mm / 5,94 g), copper-nickel, 6,00 theor. mint weight, mintage 5.000.000 (both var.) , axes medal alignment ↑↑ (0°), reeded edge,
Obv.: ... / ... ١٩٧٥ , ship on Suez Canal with waves, buildings behind, sun above, Arabic legends above and below, including reopening date 1975.
Rev.: ... / ١٠ / ١٩٧٦ - ١٣٩٦ , value and date, Arabic legends above and below.
KM 452 .

Year / Mintage
1396 (1976) ١٣٩٦ - ١٩٧٦ (narrow inscriptions obverse)
1396 (1976) ١٣٩٦ - ١٩٧٦ (wide inscriptions obverse) / 5.000.000

The Suez Canal (Arabic: قناة السويس‎ Qanāt al-Sūwais) is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows ship transport between Europe and eastern Asia without navigation around Africa. The northern terminus is Port Said and the southern terminus is Port Tawfiq at the city of Suez. Ismailia lies on its west bank, 3 km (1.9 mi) from the half-way point.

After the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, called the Six Day War, the canal was closed by an Egyptian blockade until 5 June 1975. As a result, fourteen cargo ships known as "The Yellow Fleet" remained trapped in the canal for over eight years.

In 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, the canal was the scene of a major crossing by the Egyptian army into Israeli-occupied Sinai, and in the later stage of the war, a counter-crossing by the Israeli army to Egypt. Much wreckage from this conflict remains visible along the canal's edges. After the Yom Kippur War the United States initiated Operation Nimbus Moon. The amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima was sent to the Canal, carrying twelve RH-53D minesweeping helicopters of HM-12. These partly cleared the Suez Canal between May and December 1974. She was relieved by the LST USS Barnstable County (LST1197). The British Royal Navy initiated Operation Rheostat and Task Group 65.2 provided the Minehunters HMS Maxton, HMS Bossington and HMS Wilton, and HMS Abdiel, a practice minelayer/MCMV support ship that spent two periods of 6 months in 1974 and in 1975 based at Ismailia. When the Canal Clearance Operations were completed, the Suez Canal and its lakes were considered 99% clear of mines. The Canal was then reopened by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat aboard an Egyptian destroyer which led the first convoy Northbound to Port Said in 1975.

The UNEF mandate expired in 1979. Despite the efforts of the United States, Israel, Egypt, and others to obtain an extension of the UN role in observing the peace between Israel and Egypt, as called for under the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty of 1979, the mandate could not be extended because of the veto by the USSR in the security council, at the request of Syria. Accordingly, negotiations for a new observer force in the Sinai produced the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), stationed in Sinai in 1981 in coordination with a phased Israeli withdrawal. It is there under agreements between the United States, Israel, Egypt, and other nations.