Millennium Collectors News

Israeli Millennium Issue `Peace' Coin Commemorates Year 2000

Israel, ahome land to three calendars -- Christian, Muslim and Jewish -- can be seen as the place where time began. So it should be no surprise that the Bank of Israel commemorated the onset of the Millennium with official legal tender coins.

As designed by artist Ruben Nutels, the number has been transformed into a stylized figure in which the base of the 2 is also the forepart of a dove. In its beak, it is holding an olive branch.

The famous words of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 2:4) "and they shall beat their swords into plowshares," complete the design. These words come from a prophesy about the Final Days that starts in Chapter 2 in the book of Isaiah. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." This is one of the many prophesies that will be fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah.

According to the Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation, this design was chosen because these are symbols with deep roots in the Bible and the Holy Land, which "have come to denote peace, all over the world."

The coin is offered in gold and in two silver denominations: The 22-karat (.917 fine) gold coin has a face value of 10 sheqels, is 30 millimeters (1.18 inches) in diameter, and weighs 16.96 grams. Maximum authorized mintage is 2,000 pieces in Proof quality. Official issue price is $428. A 2 sheqel sterling silver Proof is 38.7 millimeters in diameter (1.52 inches) and weighs 28.8 grams. Its mintage limit is 30,000 coins at an issue price of $42. The other sterling silver coin is a 1 sheqel in Proof-like quality with a mintage of 10,000. Issue price on this 30 mm, 14.4 gram coin is $25.

The Israel government Coin and Medals Corporation, maintains a website at http://www.coins.co.il

In the U.S., the coins can also be ordered from the authorized distributors: American Israel Numismatic Assoc, P.O. Box 836, Bayside, NY 11364, 800.562.6467; Commemoratives International, 2321 Whitney Avenue, Suite 102, Hamden, CT 06518, 800.913.9677; J. J. Van Grover, Ltd, P.O. Box 123, Oakland Gardens, NY 11364, 800.56.COINS. Shipping is extra.