Organization Name: Bank of Israel
On December 21, 2021, the Bank of Israel issued a NIS 5 – (circulation) coin of appreciation dedicated to the Israeli health and medical systems for their contribution and struggle for the lives and health of Israel’s citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The design of the obverse side of the coin was selected as part of a design competition featuring 15 graphic designers from Israel. Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron selected the winning design from three design proposals that were chosen by the Public Committee for the Planning of Banknotes, Coins and Commemorative Coins, chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Yaakov Turkel.
Following the launch, more than 2 million of the coins with this design entered circulation.
For the first time, the Bank of Israel has issued a coin that does not feature motifs of ancient Jewish coins or portraits of main important figures in the history of Israel.
The coin was devoted to the health sector and staff, and for the first time was produced without master dies, based on a digital design and image only. All details of the coins’ design are nonetheless very prominent.
The design of the NIS 5 coin, a masked doctor with stethoscope holding a patient’s hands, expresses the public’s appreciation of the Israeli health and medical systems for their contribution and struggle for the lives and health of Israel’s citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the coin is a circulation one, all citizens are involved in and exposed to this act of appreciation by the central bank. Thanks to the dedicated work of the medical teams and the central bank, the economy of the country was placed back on track.
