Bidspirit auction | Israel - 5 Lirot 1960

Israel - 5 Lirot 1960 - Centenary of Herzl Birth - Independence Day Issue, Proof - Silver 900, 25g (22.5g pure silver, 0.72 oz), 34 mm - Israel Independence Day coin issued for the 12th anniversary of the State of Israel, 1960. ”The Jews who wish for a state will have one, ” wrote Theodor Herzl in his book ”The Jewish State”. Herzl transformed the national aspirations of the Jewish people into a practical political vision. Following the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897, he famously wrote in his diary: ”In Basel I founded the Jewish State. Perhaps in five years, certainly in fifty, everyone will realize it.” Exactly fifty years later, in 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of establishing a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Obverse: At the top appears the word ”Israel” in Hebrew and Arabic, beneath it the dates ”1860-1960”. At the bottom appears the denomination ”5 Israeli Lirot”. Reverse: Portrait of Theodor Herzl within a recessed rectangular frame with rounded corners. Below appears the emblem of the State of Israel alongside the inscription ”If you will it, it is no dream”.