Wow guys, thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction. A little bit of digging and I think I figured it out.
It would appear to be a 1943 bronze 5 milliemes coin from Egypt.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72994507@N00/3380796937/
Some of the Arabic including two dots to the left of the date match exactly.
Many thanks again. I doubt the coin is analogous to the age of the sword overall but a very interesting addition to this old guy.