1168) "The Twelve Spies", ICMC, Israel: 23rd Coin in the Biblical Art Series: Gold 10 & 1 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) and Silver 2 & 1 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) Coins issued by the Holy Land Mint:
A brief about the Coin issue theme:
A brief about the Coin issue theme:
Following the exodus from Egypt, the Children of Israel wandered in the desert on their way to the Promised Land - the Land of Canaan.
In the second year, they reached the wilderness of Paran, where Moses made his decision in consultation with God to send men to spy out the Land. He appointed the head of each of the twelve tribes to explore the Land and conduct a survey of its cities and inhabitants.
When the men returned after forty days, ten out of the twelve gave a negative report. While they gave a partially good report that the Land "flowed with milk and honey" and as evidence, showed the heavy cluster of grapes that they had brought with them, they alarmed/frightened the people with the rest of their report. They described the giants they had seen and told them that the land devours its inhabitants, that its people would be too strong for them.
Alone, Joshua and Calev had faith in God, believing that the Promised Land could only be good for them and that God would guard the people with miracles.
After hearing the report of the spies, the people wept and that day of weeping became "Tisha B'Av", the ninth day of the Jewish month of "Av", when both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem would be destroyed, a day of weeping for generations to come. It was to take the Israelites forty years to reach the Promised Land, corresponding to the forty-day trip of the spies and only the younger generation was to have the merit of entering the Promised Land.
The Obverses and Reverses of the Gold 10 & 1 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) Coins and the Silver 2 & 1 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) variants presented together against a background image of the Reverse face design
On the Reverse of the Gold 10 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) Coin, in the centre is an artistic impression of the spies, bringing back the impressively large choice fruits of the seven species of the Land of Israel to the Israelites, where they were camped in the desert: ".... a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it on a bar between two, and pomegranates and figs" Numbers 13.23).
To the right in the upper periphery an olive branch symbolises another of the seven species, to the centre right periphery is an enormous pomegranate. On the left periphery is seen a jug with milk flowing out of it, a symbolism/depiction of the Land of Israel which is described 21 time in the Bible as "a land flowing with milk and honey".
To the right in the upper periphery an olive branch symbolises another of the seven species, to the centre right periphery is an enormous pomegranate. On the left periphery is seen a jug with milk flowing out of it, a symbolism/depiction of the Land of Israel which is described 21 time in the Bible as "a land flowing with milk and honey".
On the Obverse of the Gold 10 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) Coin is seen the Israel State Emblem, "Israel", the denomination of the coin "10 New Shekel", mint year "2019" and mint mark of the Holy Land Mint, all in tree languages - English, Hebrew and Arabic.
Also inscribed on the lower left periphery is the inscription - "THE TWELVE SPIES", again in the three languages. On the bottom periphery is seen a decorative element representing a cluster of grapes.
The specifications of the Gold 10 NIS coin are:
Denomination: 10 NIS (New Israeli Shekel); Metal Composition: .916 Gold (Au); Weight: 16.96 grams; Diameter/Size: 30.0 mm; Coin Quality: Proof; Mint: Holy Land Mint, Israel; Mint Mark: The symbol "Mem"; Mintage: 555 pieces; Designer: Lilach Rubin; Year: 2019.
Also inscribed on the lower left periphery is the inscription - "THE TWELVE SPIES", again in the three languages. On the bottom periphery is seen a decorative element representing a cluster of grapes.
The specifications of the Gold 10 NIS coin are:
Denomination: 10 NIS (New Israeli Shekel); Metal Composition: .916 Gold (Au); Weight: 16.96 grams; Diameter/Size: 30.0 mm; Coin Quality: Proof; Mint: Holy Land Mint, Israel; Mint Mark: The symbol "Mem"; Mintage: 555 pieces; Designer: Lilach Rubin; Year: 2019.
The box in which the Gold and silver variants in this Coin issue are presented.
The Reverse of the Silver 2 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) Coin shows an identical design to the 10 NIS Gold Coin design described above.
The specifications of the Silver 2 NIS Coin are:
Denomination: 2 NIS; Metal Composition: .999 Silver (Ag); Weight: 1 Oz or 31.1 grams; Diameter/Size: 38.7 mm; Coin Quality: Proof; Mint: Holy Land Mint, Israel; Mint Mark: The symbol "Mem"; Mintage: 2,800 pieces; Designer: Lilach Rubin; Year: 2019.
The specifications of this Silver 1 NIS Coin are:
Denomination: 1 NIS; Metal Composition: .925 Silver (Ag); Weight: 14.4 grams; Diameter/Size: 30.0 mm; Coin Quality: Proof-like; Mint: The Holy Land Mint, Israel; Mint Mark: Star of David; Mintage: 1,800 pieces; Designer: Lilach Rubin; Year: 2019.
The specifications of this Gold 1 NIS Coin are:
Denomination: 1 NIS; Metal Composition: .999 Gold (Au); Weight: 1.244 grams; Diameter/Size: 13.92 mm; Coin Quality: Proof; Mint: The Holy Land Mint, Israel; Mint Mark: the symbol "Mem"; Mintage: 5,000 pieces; Designer: Lilach Rubin; Year: 2019.
Links to more Posts from ICMC Israel:
Gates of Jerusalem Coin Series:
1) "Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem", Israel: First Coin in the "Gates of Jerusalem" Coin Series: Gold & Silver Bullion Coins issued by the Israel Coins and Medals Corporation (ICMC) and minted by the Holy Land Mint in 2017:
3) "Damascus Gate", Jerusalem, Israel: Third Coin in the "Gates of Jerusalem" Coin Series: Gold and Silver Bullion Coins issued by the Israel Coins and Medals Corporation (ICMC) and minted by the Holy Land Mint in 2018 (with the year of issue as 2019):
4) "New Gate", Jerusalem, Israel: Fourth Coin in the "Gates of Jerusalem" Coin Series: Gold and Silver Bullion Coins issued by the Isral Coins and Medals Corporation (ICMC) and minted by the Holy Land Mint in 2019
Birds of Israel Coin Series:
Other interesting posts from Israel:
2) Centenary of the Battle of Haifa, Israel: Eretz, fought in September 2018 by the Indian cavalry comprising Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers against German and Turkish troops: A commemorative stamp brought out by Israel Post on 06.02.2018:
3) Butterflies of Israel: A Series of Eight Coins issued by the Israel Coins and Medals Corporation (ICMC), minted by the Holy Land Mint (2018)
3) Butterflies of Israel: A Series of Eight Coins issued by the Israel Coins and Medals Corporation (ICMC), minted by the Holy Land Mint (2018)
5) "Jerusalem Windmill", Israel: The Ninth Coin in the Jerusalem of Gold Bullion Coin Series: Issue Year: 2019
6) "The Twelve Spies", ICMC, Israel: 23rd Coin in the Biblical Art series: Gold 10 & 1 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) and Silver 2 & 1 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) Coins issued by the Holy Land Mint:
7) Ancient Roman Arenas (in Israel): A set of three Stamps issued by Israel Post on 19.12.2017
6) "The Twelve Spies", ICMC, Israel: 23rd Coin in the Biblical Art series: Gold 10 & 1 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) and Silver 2 & 1 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) Coins issued by the Holy Land Mint:
7) Ancient Roman Arenas (in Israel): A set of three Stamps issued by Israel Post on 19.12.2017
"Views of Jerusalem" Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Series:
2) The City of David: Fourth Coin in the Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Series issued by ICMC, Israel & the Holy Land Mint, Israel (2019)
For some other interesting posts from Italy/The Vatican, please visit the following links:
3) Amatrice: "Art Treasures of Amartice", Italy: A 5 Euro Bimetallic Commemorative Coin issued by Istituto Poligrafico Zecca della Stato (IPZS) on 06.08.2018
4) Israel-Vatican Joint Issue: Celebrating 25 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Israel and The Vatican: A Commemorative Stamp issued jointly by the Vatican Numismatic Service and Israel Post on 10.09.2019
Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Gr8 efforts by you Rajeev. Keep it up !!"
Thank you so much, Khanna sahab for your constant encouragement.
DeleteVikram Bhatnagar has commented:
ReplyDelete"Beautiful narration of a tale full of trials and, tribulations; what the Israelites had to go through, was to test their faith, determination and strength! The results are not difficult to see today!"
Very nicely summed up. Thanks, Vikram.
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