The People of the Book

"The People of the Book" 5741-1981
Israel's 33rd Anniversary of Independence Coin

The "Book of Books" was given to the Jewish people who are therefore called, 'The People of the Book". The Bible was written in Hebrew and over the generations scribes and scholars copied letters, sentences and passages, thus preserving the spiritual independence and culture of the nation, even during the long period that it was dispersed among other nations.
The 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet formed the basis of two Jewish languages spoken in the diaspora -Yiddish and Ladino.
The vitality of printing and the Hebrew book exhibits in Israel is proven by the number of books published in the country. The year 1980 alone saw the publication of 4,381 books, 15 million copies printed by 123 publishers.

Obverse: The face value "2" and the words in Hebrew 'Two Sheqalim" on the silver coins; "10" and the words in Hebrew, 'Ten Sheqalim" on the gold coin; the Israel State emblem, word "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and Latin characters and mint year "5741-1981".

Reverse: An open book with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet rising from it like a flame.

Edge: On the silver coin the inscription "33rd Year of the State of Israel" in Hebrew in direction of obverse, gold coin milled.

Mint Marks: On the reverse of the B.U. coin, a Star of David. On the reverse of the silver proof and gold coins, the Hebrew letter "Mem", centered in the lower border.

Designer: Obverse - Dov Lif, Reverse - Aharon Afini

Mint: Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa