Israeli. Coins: a Thing of Value
-- By CHARLOTTE DUBIN
Yitzhak Avni likes to think of
his stock' in 'trade as Isriters
"metallic ambassadors of good
will"—a euphemism, perhaps, hut
a pretty fair description of the
coins of IsraeL -
Avni, direetor-general of. the Is:
rad Government Coins and Med-
als Corp, was in Detroit this week
for a meeting of the Israel Numb::
matic Society' f Michigan. In fact
it was a meeting heady with to
brass: AVIA, who- also is assistant
director .general of the office of
the prime minister; Rafael Aldor,
director- of the coins and medals
corporation's North American Of-
fice; dad > Morris Bram, president
of theN American Israel Numis-
matic Association, Inc.
No ordinary meeting. But it's no
ordinary subject either, as Syd-
ney Bluestone. president of the
35-member Michigan group, will
testify. His is one of more than
30 Israeli coin clubs in the U.S.,
and a more ardent bunch of nu-
mismatists cannot be found any-
where•except, perhaps, in Israel.
because they're beautiful and
kept to a minimum."
- In imoncollector nomenclature,
this means- that demand 'far -ex-
ceeds, supply; that Israerd coins
go-- up in value far- out of - propor-
tion te the original_face:figure..
-'AVni said Israel's government is
very aware of the . importance - of
Commemorative. coins in project-,
ing to the -world what the state
wants to say.
' Its latest, a -special issue by - the
Bank of Israel, is an evrellent
case-iii point: Carrying the motto,
"Let My People Go," the IL '10
silver coin is a graphic master-
piece by Yacov Zim, depicting the
struggle of Soviet Jewry.
Explained IAvni: "The Soviet
Jewry coin was minted with the
purpose of paying tribute to Rus-
sian Jewry in its struggle for free-
dom, but we also want people to
remember that there are over 3,-
500,000 '(sic) Jews 'behind bars' in
the Soviet Union who want to
came to Israel and can't."
The message of-the coin is rein-
forced with a matching lapel pin
and
a brochure which details :the
Amd descrThes Israel's coins
as :among the most popular . in oppression -of Soviet_ Jewry—as
the world. "Not because of sen• well as Jews in Arab lands—and
timent—I'd say 40 per, vent of includes a message from Prime
our world clientele is_ gentile— Minister Grade Meir.
Pecatise of the vital nature of
but because, they tell a _story,
because they're • beautiful and the _theme, this commemorative
coin- is the 'first to carry English
words as well as Hebrew.
This week, -the first SoViet Jewry
Passpc-t-Pho.os
coin to be circulated in the U.S.
was handed to United Nations Sec-
2. c ar 3 . 95
retary General U Thant by UN
Ambassador Yosef Tekoah. It will
Eicmck Door
be available soon in Detroit,
through the National Bank of De-
Galleries
troit and Manufacturers National
as well as the Israel Numis-
352-4116 Bank,
matic Society of 'Michigan. But it
was warned that the coin is al-
ready almost sold out in pre-sales.
So treasured are Israel's coins
that . artists vie for the privilege
of designing them, said Avni.
The winner receives more than
DRESS SHOP
just a cash award: be achieves
world recognition.
SIZES 1 2-1 8
Each year, Israel mints two or
-three commemorative coins, one
FALL
for Independence Day, a second
suns a Costumes
called the "pidyon. haben" (used
.
.
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Wish Them A Very Happy
35th Anniversary
Nov. 1, 1971
The.
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on- the occasion of a first son's
birth) and occasionally a special
issue, as in the case of the Soviet
Jewry coin.
In 1963, a silver coin was issued
to commemorate seafaring, and
the value has since jumped from
the IL 5 face figure (it sold for
$4 in the U.S:) to a selling price
on the free market of $275 to $300.
No wonder, then, that collectors
pant for Israeli coins.
"Unlike other nations, we're not
in this business for the money,"
said Avni, "but to spread the word
of Israel. We determine the num-
ber of coins to be' issued based
simply on commercial intuition.
There are enough for a certain
period, but when the coin is sold
out, the demand goes up, like the
stock market. The government can-
not speculate. We value our in-
tegrity"
Avni added that all revenue from
the sale of commemorative coins
(this year a net profit of $2,000,-
000) is earmarked by the for-
eign ministry for restoration of
Israel's historical sites.
"Evidence of our work can be
seen throughout Israel,", said Avni.
There is a beautiful green
with palm trees, outside Jerusa-
lem. Or take a look at Caeserea,
Ashkelon,_ Acre. All these have
been helped with the sale of coins."
Israel obviously knows a good
thing. How did it all begin? On
Israel's 10th anniversary, in 1958,
Teddy Kollek, then director gen-
eral of the prime minister's of-
fice, had the idea of issuing a
commemorative coin to finance
the Israel Independence Day cele-
bration. He made the suggestion
to David Ben-Gurion and together
they formed a body for the issu-
ance of such a coin.
- The endeavor exceeded expec-
tations. Two years later, the nu-
mismatic section of the Israel
government made way for the in-
dependent corporation that _ ex-
ists today.
A public advisory committee
which selects coin themes and de-
tails is headed by Supreme Court
Justice Alfred Vitkon.
The American Israel Numis-
matic Association was founded to
spread the word of Israel's com-
memorative coins and to create
new collectors. Out of the parent
group sprang the local branches.
New collectors are born every
day, for even the uninitiated are
entranced by the beauty of Israeli
coins. Even Avni, who admits he
isn't a coin collector.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, October 29, 1971-33 -
Aguda Delegates
to Meet- in Detroit
'Representatives from Agudath'
Israel branches in St. Louis, Chi-
cago, Cleveland and- Detroit will
meet for an executive meeting and
conference 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
at the Council of Orthodox Rabbis
building.
Rabbi Moshe Sherer, executive
president of Agudath Israel of
America, will attend.
A catered lunch will-.die served.
Plans for the year will be made.
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It's Greek to B-G;
UJA Tribute on 85th
Leadership of the
TEL AVIV
United Jewish Appeal presented
David Ben-Gurion, former prime
minister of Israel, with an ancient
manuscript in commemoration of
his 85th birthday. 4.
The presentation was made at
Ben-Gurion's home in Tel Aviv
by Edward Ginsberg of Cleveland,
general chairman of UJA. He and
a delegation of UJA's national
chairmen celled on Israel's elder
stateman during the organization's
annual study conference now in
progress.
The manuscript was the first edi-
tion Greek of a Treatise on Mosaic
Law by Philo, of Alexandria, the
ish philosopher. It
1st Century Jew
was published in Paris in 1542.
Accepting the book, Ben-Gurion
who can read.- 10 languages, quip-
ped "I don't have any first editions
—I have only last editions."
Ben-Gurion then used the occa-
sion to predict that peace would
come to the Middle East in some
'10 to 12 years. When asked if Israel
could hold out for' that period, he
said, "We have held out for 4,000
years."
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