Israel Israel 1/2 and 1 Lira 1963 to 1980

With only 7 branches, not 9 branches, DJ, those are not Hannukah candles on the reverse side of this 1/2 lira coin from Israel, instead that is the menorah (candlestick) from the old Jewish temple from back in the days of Solomon, Jeremiah, and Jesus. You can see it today carved into the Arch of Titus in Rome which depicts the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Even though the history of this coin is fascinating, it is a modern coin made of non-precious metal and is therefore worth very little. A circulated coin typically sells for less than $1 US dollar and a fully uncirculated example might fetch $3 from a collector eager to add it to his or her collection.



Now if you are willing to squint a little and talk yourself into seeing things, you can check your coin for the date of 1963 and you can check the base of the menorah for a variety known as small animals. The pictures on this page show how to discern a Jewish Era date of JE5723, or 1963AD, as well as the small animals. The only sure way to tell small animals from large animals is to have two 1963-dated coins side by side and look at them both with a good magnifier. Coin collectors love to do this sort of thing. It gets their collector juices flowing.



If you indeed have a small animals coin, here are typical catalog values.

1/2 LIRA WITH SMALL ANIMALS
worn: less than $1 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $1
well preserved: $2
fully uncirculated: $30

1 LIRA WITH SMALL ANIMALS
worn: less than $1 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $1
well preserved: $3
fully uncirculated: $35
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