EGYPT: AR medal, loop attached (72.23g), 1801, Gordon-27, Vernon-491, 51mm; Presentation medal for the British & Indian troops who expelled the French from Cairo in 1801: British soldier raising the British flag in the field, the pyramids in the background; Persian text below // a British ship before the pyramids, MDCCCI in exergue, with original loop attached (modern string attached to the loop), prooflike surfaces, UNC, RR. From Wikipedia: "General Baird commanded an Anglo-Indian expeditionary that had been raised in Bombay in early 1801 to co-operate with Sir Ralph Abercromby in the expulsion of the French from Egypt. He arrived after the Battle of Alexandria on 21 March 1801, where soon afterward Abercromby had been killed in a skirmish, dying on 28 March. Wellesley had been appointed second in command to Baird, but owing to ill-health did not accompany the expedition on 9 April 1801. Baird reached Jeddah on 17 May, where he was joined by a contingent from the Cape of Good Hope. The force landed at Kosseir on 8 June, and marched 167 miles across the desert to Kena on the Nile, and then another 253 miles to Cairo. The French surrendered Cairo on 27 June. The Indian contingent then marched on to Alexandria in time for the Siege of Alexandria fought between 17 August and 2 September 1801." There are two sets of dies for this medal, both probably engraved in England, with identical designs and ornamentation. The Persian legend is also the same, but there are a few spelling differences, for example, the word "afraj" with or without the second letter "alif", both likely acceptable in India. A total of 2200 pieces were allegedly struck and presented to the soldiers.