Israel Coins and Medals Corp.

ICMC occupies the commercial and commemorative side of Israel's state numismatic system. The Bank of Israel alone is legally authorized to issue legal-tender currency, while ICMC markets commemorative coins and produces or sources State and special medals, bullion, replicas, Judaica, and gifts.[1][2]

The company's present precious-metals operations are organized around The Holy Land Mint trademark. Its products are marketed for investment, collecting, and commemoration, linking contemporary precious-metal production with the corporation's original public commemorative role.[1][2]

The corporation's commemorative history begins in 1958, when Israel's first commemorative medals and coins were issued for the tenth anniversary of statehood as part of the activities of the Prime Minister's Office Anniversary Committee.[3] The first medal issued was the Liberation Medal: its obverse reproduced the Roman "Judaea Capta" coin, while its reverse bore the inscription "Israel Liberata," setting Jewish national restoration against Rome's ancient triumphal imagery.[3]

A formal institutional framework followed. A special Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation was established in 1961, with a charter providing for a board of directors drawn from several government ministries and empowered to appoint a director general.[3] ICMC's own account instead identifies 1958 as its founding year and names Ben-Gurion as the initiating prime minister.[1] Ynet also credits Ben-Gurion but dates establishment to 1961, while Calcalist gives 1962 and names Teddy Kollek as the first manager.[4][5]

State medals commemorated events of national or international significance in culture, science, history, and Israel's development. In keeping with Jewish tradition, living personalities were not commemorated.[3]

Under the original framework, commemorative coins were issued by the Bank of Israel as legal tender, while the corporation held a monopoly on official State medals.[3] The two product lines served complementary functions: coins carried legal face values, while medals conveyed national recognition without entering monetary circulation.

An amendment to the Bank of Israel Law passed in 1968 granted the corporation distribution rights for Israel's commemorative coins.[6] Its profits came from surcharges on the coins' face values and from sales of State medals, with the proceeds devoted to maintaining and reconstructing historical sites in Israel.[6] Numismatic revenue was thereby connected to preservation of the heritage represented on the coins and medals.

Official State medals were distinguished from privately issued pieces by edge markings that included the State emblem, the words "State of Israel" in Hebrew and English, and serial numbers.[3] After a designated mintage was completed, the dies used to strike the medals were destroyed in the presence of official witnesses, protecting the integrity of the limited editions.[3]

The corporation's product range spans Bank of Israel legal-tender commemorative coins, official State medals, numismatic bullion, replicas of ancient coins, Judaica, jewelry, and Israeli art.[1][2] Commemorative and special coins in gold, silver, and platinum are purchased from the Bank of Israel, while State and special medals are minted at The Holy Land Mint or obtained from other mints.[2]

ICMC's own numismatics article lists the Biblical Art, Personalities in Israel, Independence Day, and Jerusalem of Gold series among the coins it has marketed.[7] The Jerusalem of Gold bullion series launched in 2010 with the Tower of David coin—one troy ounce of fine gold issued by the Bank of Israel as legal tender with a face value of NIS 20. The issue was limited to 3,600 coins, with a maximum of five per customer.[8] Its price tracked the international gold market and was fixed daily at 9 a.m.; on the issue date it was priced at NIS 6,393, approximately $1,467.[8] The coin depicted the Tower of David above Jerusalem's Old City walls, with "Jerusalem" in Hebrew, English, and Arabic, while the reverse bore the Lion of Megiddo.[8]

A 2013 commemorative coin in the same series honored the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum, the domed structure housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Aleppo Codex, and other manuscripts. Designed by Aharon Shevo, it was identified as the series' fourth bullion coin.[9] That year, the Bank of Israel also issued a Yad Vashem anniversary coin distributed by ICMC in three versions: 555 gold NIS 10 coins, 2,800 proof-quality silver NIS 2 coins, and 1,800 proof-like silver NIS 1 coins.[10] Sets containing all three versions or the two silver coins were offered, and ICMC donated part of the sales proceeds to Yad Vashem.[10]

At the end of 2012, the corporation issued a State medal commemorating Iron Dome and presented it to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the IDF at a ceremony in Beersheba.[9] Its design showed interceptor missiles above a city skyline alongside the Israel State Emblem and a quotation from Isaiah.[9] A medal for the 19th Maccabiah Games, designed by David Harel with the Games' official logo, depicted a running athlete surrounded by Magen David-shaped stars and carried a quotation from Mishna Avot 5:23. It was available in bronze, with limited mintages of 360 in silver and 100 in gold.[9]

ICMC says it partners with the Israel Antiquities Authority to produce ancient-coin replicas and market rare ancient coins. It also promotes Israeli art and Judaica through its retail and online operations.[1]

ICMC was wholly owned by the Government of Israel until 2008, when it was privatized and purchased by the G.R.A.S. Group, a private jewelry manufacturer and marketer.[1] Competition Commissioner Ronit Kan approved the sale after finding that the merger raised no competition concerns. The corporation's jewelry activity was considered marginal, the jewelry market contained numerous competitors, and the companies' principal business fields were sufficiently distinct.[5]

The privatization agreement committed ICMC to maintaining its traditional character and scope of activity.[1] In a 2006 petition to Israel's High Court, the company said its sales amounted to several million shekels and argued that the absence of an advisory council to the Bank of Israel was preventing new coin issues and causing business difficulties.[5]

A 2012 Ynet account described ICMC as the exclusive distributor of Bank of Israel commemorative and special coins.[4] Reports concerning the 2018 coins for Israel's 70th anniversary and the 2024 Independence Day issue instead described public marketing through both ICMC and G.R.A.S. Designs and Combinations.[11][12] The sources document different arrangements at different dates but do not explain precisely when or how the change occurred.

In 2014, ICMC launched The Holy Land Mint as an international investment-precious-metals trademark, beginning with a .999-fine silver "Dove of Peace" bullion item.[1] Since 2019, the collection has also been produced in .9999-fine gold, in rounds and bars ranging from 1 gram to 1 kilogram. The corporation's mint moved to new premises in 2022 and now produces most of its products locally in Israel.[1]

ICMC says its gold and silver investment bars have met the international "Good Delivery" standard since 2018.[2] Its numismatic bullion series depict places, landscapes, and symbols associated with Jerusalem and the Land of Israel, including the Gates of Jerusalem, Views of Jerusalem, Holy Land Ancient Mosaics, and Holy Land Sites series.[2] These products are marketed for investment, collecting, and luxury gifts, and the corporation also operates in the secondary collectors' market.[2]

The breadth of ICMC's historical output is reflected in archival holdings. The National Library of Israel catalogs the Noam Shudofsky Israel Medals and Coins Collection, deposited by Shudofsky's son Benjamin Shalev in 2021. Covering 1959–1996, its 0.4 meters of material include regular coins, Hanukkah coins, and medals commemorating events, institutions, and cities.[13]

The Central Zionist Archives' Hanukkah resource includes two posters captioned as belonging to The Israel Coins and Medals Corp. The archive explains that such posters and handbills were displayed on urban bulletin boards to convey information to the wider public, placing the corporation's work within Israel's public holiday-poster culture.[14]

ICMC currently describes itself as a global company serving tens of thousands of customers and employing about 200 people. These operational figures come from the corporation's own account.[1]

Sources give three dates for the corporation's origins. ICMC identifies 1958 as its founding year, while an Encyclopedia.com reference entry and Ynet place formal establishment in 1961.[3][1] Calcalist gives 1962 and identifies Teddy Kollek as the first manager.[5]

The 1958 date is independently supported as the beginning of Israel's state commemorative-medal and coin activity, but the cited sources do not explain why they differ on the date of the corporate institution.[3][4] The distinction may involve the first commemorative issues, the later formal charter, or a subsequent corporate organization, but the available sources do not establish that explanation conclusively.