Judaica - Gerlitz Shekel - "Shekel Israel" Token - Late 19th Century - Tradition Dating to the 15th Century - ...

Judaica - Gerlitz Shekel - "Shekel Israel" Token - Late 19th Century - Tradition Dating to the 15th Century - Ritual Vessel and Flowering Branch A Jewish token known as a "Gerlitz Shekel", dating to the late 19th century and belonging to a type that developed in Europe from the late 15th century as an imaginative representation of the ancient Jewish shekel. At the time the earliest types were produced, the actual appearance of ancient Jewish shekel coins was not yet clearly known in Europe, and their designs were therefore later interpretations rather than accurate copies of ancient coins. Tradition associates the origins of the type with Georg Emmerich of Görlitz, who traveled to the Holy Land as a pilgrim in 1465. Over time, Christian tradition connected such pieces with the "thirty pieces of silver" of the Judas Iscariot narrative. Variations of the Gerlitz Shekel were subsequently produced throughout Europe and became known among both Christian and Jewish communities. Among European Jews, tokens of this general type acquired distinctly Jewish uses. They were employed as commemorative pieces and amulets, as symbolic tokens for the Zecher Le-Machatzit HaShekel custom, for charity and Purim gifts to the poor, and in some instances as representations of the five sela'im used for the Pidyon HaBen ceremony. Gerlitz Shekels consequently became a longstanding category of Judaica, although the origin of the type itself was not an official Jewish communal coinage. Obverse: A stylized central goblet or ritual vessel from which flame- or plant-like ornaments emerge. The surrounding stylized Hebrew inscription includes: "שקל ישראל" ("Shekel Israel"). Reverse: An upright flowering branch with leaves and fruit or buds, surrounded by a stylized Hebrew inscription. This example dates to the late 19th century and is a token rather than an official legal-tender coin. Brass/gold-colored metal, showing age-related handling and wear.