Table Of ContentMOE WEINSCHEL, President
EDWARD JANIS, Vice-President
JULIUS TUROFF, Secretary
SYLVIA HAFFNER MAGNUS, Treasurer
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Edward Janis William Rosenblum Nathan Sobel Mel Wacks
Sylvia H. Magnus DonnaSims J.J. Van Grover Moe Weinschel
Stanley Yulish, Chairman of !he Board
Michael Druck, Membership Chairman
The American Israel Numismatic Association is a cultural and
educational organization dedicated to the study of Israel's coin
age, past and present, and all aspects of Judaica numismatics. It
is a democratically organized, membership oriented group, chart
ered as a non-profit association under the laws of The State of
New York. The primary responsibility is the development of pro
grams, publications, meetings and other activities which will bring
news, history, social and related background to the study of
Judaic numismatics, and the advancement of the hobby.
The Association sponsors major cultural/social/numismatic
events as national and regional conventions, study tours to Israel,
publications of books, and other activities which will be of benefit
to the members.
The Association is the publisher of the SHEKEL, a six times a
year journal and news magazine prepared for the enlightenment
and education of the membership. It neither solicits nor accepts
advertising, either paid or unpaid. All articles published are the
views and opinions of their authors and may or may not reflect
the views and opinion of A.I.N.A.
Membership fees: Annual $15.-, Life $200.-, Foreign $20.
Junior $5.- . Club membership $15-. Please send all remittances,
undelivered magazines, change of address and zip code, with old
address label to: A.I.N.A., 5150 W. Copans Road, Margate, Fla.
33063. i>nr.ud in U.S.A
Volume XXIV No.2 (Cons. #123) March- April 1991
Editor
EDWARD SCHUMAN
13245 Coronado Drive
No. Miami, Fla. 33181
Table of Contents
President's Message
By Moe Weinsche1.. ..................... 2
The Moses Medal
By Dr. Emanuel A. Smith ............ 3
Fulop 0. Beck
By Peter S. Horvitz ..................... 6
The Aleph Beth Page
By Edward Janis ......................... 8
The Patroness of Tiberias
By D'vora Ben Shaul.. ............... 1 0
The jews of Cochin
By Edward Schuman ................... 1 3
Numismatics, the War and a Prophecy
By Sanford j. Durst.. .................. 16
An Historical Paradux
By Edward Schuman ................... 18
Faiths Intertwined
jewish Bronze Coins
By Howard Kogen ....................... 22
Tiffany Commission Scrip
By Gene Hynds .......................... 25
Lord Balfour
By David Geffen ........................ 30
Dates on Coins in Circulation, With a
Look at the Coins of Palestine & Israel
By Shmuel Aviezer ..................... 33
The Enigmatic Qumran
By Walter Zanger ....................... 37
The Israel Museum
Celebrates 25 Years
By Anita Kushner. ....................... 39
Photography by HENRY KRAMARZ
@ 1991 by the American Israel Numismatic Association
All Rights Reserved
Printed by Little River Press, Miami, Florida
THE PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
by MOE WEINSCHEL
The current upheaval in the Mid-East is disturbing to all of us. We
can show our support for Israel and still maintain loyalty to the United
States. We can help by promoting A.I.N.A. membership. We can help
by boosting Israel Numismatics and collecting the "Patriotic" medals of
Israel. There are many of these as:
Peoples of Israel Uves ("Am Yisrael Chai")
Hear 0 Israel ("Shema Yisraef")
Masada ("We Shall Remain Free")
May the Lord Bless Y au
Thank You (in ten languages-one of the latest)
Other Various Jerusalem Medals (Knesset, Gates,
Jerusalem of Gold etc.)
The Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation is planning a
new "Twin Cities" medal of New York/Tel Aviv. The Tel Aviv side will
be designed by an Israeli. The New York City side by an American.
We will be planning a special celebration and medal for A.I.N.A.'s
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary in 1992. You are invited to submit designs
for this Twenty-Fifth Anniver.sary medal as well as the New York/Tel
Aviv medals.
If all goes well, we plan to have the largest and best Tour to Israel
in 1992. This will be one of the high points of our Silver Anniversary
celebrations.
Please let us hear from you. Support Israel Numismatics and Israel.
Purchase Israel coins and medals. Support A. I. N. A. during these trying
times by bringing in a new member. Each paid up member averages
down the cost of the Shekel. The new postal increases are additional
expense to pay, but can be absorbed with increased membership
revenue. You don't have to be Jewish to eat Levy's rye bread. You
don't have to be a numismatist to read and enjoy the Shekel. Won't
you sign up a relative or friend today, or perhaps give someone a
belated Hanukka gift?
Dl7UJ Shalom,
2
1tf1m~~
By Dr. Emanuel A. Smith
Medals reflect man's history Rome, Italy. This Moses statue
throughout the ages. They are embodies the culmination of the
made of precious or base metals, Italian Renaissance of Michelangelo
either engraved, minted or cast as a painter, sculptor, architect
depending on the available metals, and poet. The famous figure of
tools and artisans. Moses shows the fulfillment of the
Medals date back to the golden basic humanism of the Renais
age of Greece, when highly skilled sance.
artisans designed and cut com The obverse of the Moses
memorative medals to celebrate medal contains Hebrew lettering of
historical events. Although coins the square Meruba style, similar
are older than metals, often they to the Torah script of the scrolls
do not measure up to the superior of the Pentateuch which repose in
medal art. the synagogue sanctuary, and read
The popular medal portraiture from publicly at the services. The
developed and perfected by the script surrounding the Moses
Greeks was absorbed by the profile reads: "Moshe Adonn Le
Romans. Bronze medals became Chaul Ha Nevi-im ", translated,
popular commemorative cult ob "Moses, the greatest of all the
jects for prominent Roman sena prophets."
tors and citizens to commission On the reverse of the medal,
their portrait to signify important we find the field area containing
happenings in their lives the two tablets of the law, the ten
As time went on, the medal commandments, using the same
became an object of pure art, and Meruba style Hebrew script. A
most famous artists would use palm frond appears as a binder
this medium to create art works for the tablets in the center, and
in miniature metal form. two king crowns are placed in the
Many years ago, when this two rounded heads of the tablets.
author was a Carnegie graduate at They represent the Keter Torah,
the Sorbonne, the University of the crown of the Torah, and the
Paris, leisure hours were spent Keter Kehunah, the crown of
visiting the art galleries and flea Priesthood. At the base of the
markets of Europe. tablets, we find the Hebrew cal
One day, a bronze medal in a endar date of (5)587,-1827
flea market attracted the attention The author, in his experience
of the author. On the obverse was and studies, has never seen such a
represented the famous dynamic beautiful and artistic crafted
profile of Moses, with head Judaic medal as this one.
horns, long beard etc. of At the time it was acquired, it
Michelangelo Buonerati (14 7 5- was brought home to America,
1564). This statue is located in and placed in a vault until further
Chiesa di San Pietra in Vincoli, notice. Years have passed, and
3
now when the author has retired Bible, Moses, prophet, leader and
from his academic career, the law giver, supersedes them all.
questions about this medal and its
history has cotne to the fore. Moses, the iews foremost
Of all the personalities en leader, gave his people their
shrined in the Old Testament nationhood. By his superhuman
effort, he molded a hoard of medals, as to who commissioned
slaves into a ~'kingdom of priests them, and who received them,
and holy people" (Exodus 19:5-6). the author contacted the Paris
Moses was a courageous man of Mint. The answer received was
' high ideals, whose love of justice that they were unable to find any
r .
and sense of holmess has been a evidence for Barre's Hebrew Bib
model for all people from Biblical lical Medals. They in turn advised
time to present day. the author to contact the Jewish
On close examination and Museum of Paris, and the Com
study, ·I have determined that this mission Francais des Archives
Mose~ _m edal is a die stamped Juives du Paris, both who could
bronze of 33mm. On the lower left not supply any information.
hand side of . the shoulder is In spite of the negative results,
stamped in Roman Classic style the author was successful to dis
letters the name of the artist, cover private coin collectors who
Barre. offered photographs of the Barre
In the "Biographical Dictionary Aaron and King David Medals,
of Medallists", we find listed Jean which th~ author will write up in
Jacques Barre, a French medalist two subsequent articles in the
born August 3rd 1793 and died SHEKEL magazine.
June lOth 1855. He is listed as a The lack of historical evidence
"Medalist and Graveur General des for these three Judaic medals
Medailles" of the Paris Mint from leaves one with a puzzling mys
1842 to 1855. He was apprenticed tery.
to Thiolier at the age of seven Perhaps someday, someone,
teen, and then made much somewhere will be able to answer
progress that his first exhibit at the question "who and for whom
the Salon of 1819 met with great are these Judaic medals?"
success. The artist, Barre, who lovingly
Barre is best remembered for designed the Moses Medal after
his coins and medals for Louis the Michelangelo statue in Rome,
Phillipe and Napoleon III, but he sought to do homage to a man
also produced the Great Seal of regarded as the greatest leader the
the French Republic and medals Jewish people and the world has
for the Paris Mint. He was suc known.
ceeded as Engraver General by his It is a fitting tribute to Moses
son Albert Barre, who designed when we read in Deuteronomy
coins for King George I of 34:10, of the Pentateuch, of the
Greece. Old Testament, "There has since
Jean Jacques Barre produced of -not arisen a prophet in Israel such
particularly Jewish interest, a as Moses".
series of medals having Moses, The author is indebted to the
Aaron and King David. It is not following who made this article
certain by whom and for these possible. Mr.Peter S. Horvitz, Dr.
Biblical medals were produced. Ira Rezak and Mr. Harry Kolker.
To get information on the The bibliography will appear at
background qf these Judaic the end of the third article.
5
Ilkrcik
~ @D
By Peter S. Horvitz
Since writing my recent with that group in that year.
article on Bela Kun (The Beck, in fact, never seems to
SHEKEL, Nov.-Dec. 1990), I have left Hungary after 1919.
have found some additional In addition to the pattern
information on the Jewish coins for Bela Kun's government
Hungarian medalist Fulop 0. discussed in Gibb's article, Beck
Beck that supplements both my produced a different 108 milli
article, and the information on meter model for Kun. The
Beck to be found in Daniel M. obverse of this is practically
Friedenberg's Jewish Minters identical with Gibb's pattern, the
and Medalists (Philadelphia major difference being a star
1976.) The source of this new above the head of the woman on
information is a catalog of a the new pattern. Concerning the
retrospecti.ve exhibition of Beck's subject on the obverse, an
work, both medallic and earlier medal of Beck, from
sculptural, held in Budapest in 1914, allows us to interpret this
1970. female figure as that of Peace,
The first thing to be noted is rather than the "Goddess of
the high place that Beck holds in Harvest," as Gibbs called her.
the pantheon of Hungarian
artists, "one of the masters of
Hungarian sculpture of the
twentieth century." For instance,
the catalog notes that 25
different studies of Beck's works
were published between 1908
and 1969.
Next, I would like to clarify
, one point that was left unclear in
my previous article. Beck was
not the "engraver" who, accord
ing to Gibbs, left Hungary in
1919 with the four pattern
coins. Beck didnot leave Hung
ary at that time, according to
the chronology provided in the
catalog. From 1920 until his The reverse of the new pattern,
death, Beck frequently exhibited however, is completely different.
and produced public monuments The reverse shows a hand
for his country, just as he had holding a hammer, flanked by
before 1919. In 1920, Beck was the denomination 10 Kor.
a founding member of an organ Around this is a Hungarian
ization of artists and exhibited inscription that translates as
(;
SELF- PORTRAIT PLAQUETTE OF 1897
Marx's famous dictum "Workers
of the world unite!"
One other of Beck's medallic
works besides the Sir Aurel
Stein ~edal illustrated in Fried
Fulop 0. Beck appare_ntly
enberg, is of special Jewish
died under tragic and mystenous
interest, a self portrait plaquette
circumstances in 1945, in
dating from 1897. Thi~ _bronze
German occupied Budapest. He
piece measures 198 mtlhmeters
walked out of his house on
by 119 millimeters and IS
January 31st and was never
uniface.
heard of again.
Sir Aurel Stein
7
The J\LfPH .S£TH Page
... Dedicated to the Beginner
by Edward Janis
Q. In looking at some pocket change I brought back from Israel a
few years ago, I noticed that these coins have not only Hebrew
writing, but also Arabic. Is it rare or uncommon to have more than
one language on a countries coins? Y.R., Boston, Mass.
A. We must examine the coin and examine the use of the second
language. On the coinage of several countries, we find mottos which
serve as an indication of a maxim of character intended to indicate the
background standards of the country. Look at your U.S. coins which
show three different legends or mottos. The largest is always
"LIBERTY". The second depicts our Freedom of Religion -"IN GOD
WE TRUST". The third a latin phrase "E PLURIBUS UNUM" meaning
one out of many, or one composed of many - the motto of the United
States of America. Because of this latin legend, would you say U.S.
coinage is bilingual? In Canada, following custom, the English
monarch's effigy is on the obverse, surrounded by a latin abbreviated
legend "ELIZABETH II D.G. REGINA" (Elizabeth II Queen by the
Grace of God". The foregoing two examples ARE NOT considered to
be bilingual coinages.
A coin becomes bilingual under the following circumstances
1) When a date exists under two different dating systems, or when
the same date is on the coin in two different languages. An example is
· the Babylonian Lamp Hanukka issue on which the Hebrew date 5434 is
given together with the common era dates of 1973.
2) When the denomination of a coin is given in two different
languages. An example is the half sheqel pieces that start in 1980. The
word "sheqel" is in English and Hebrew. This is not an isolated case.
French IndoChina coins are valuated in French and Chinese. Tunisia
has coins with both French and Arabic.
3) When two different local languages are expressed as the issuer of
the coin. In Israel, we find Hebrew and Arabic used for "ISRAEL."
Other examples are the silver issues of Sun Yat Sen 1912/1920s)
Republic of China with English and Chinese. In India we have coinage
with English and Hindu and also English and Urdu.
We also have tri-lingual coins. In Israel, starting in 1963, we find
English, Hebrew and Arabic for the issuing government "Israel". The
new agora series for 1990 also has the languages for Israel. If you
really wish to see three languages on a coin, look at the reverse of a
Palestine Two Mill coin. "Palestine" is in Arabic, English and Hebrew.
After the Hebrew Palestine, are two letters aleph and yud standing for
ERETZ YISROY AL-Land of Israel. To me this means all of Palestine
as stated.
8
