1958 ISRAEL 1/2 LIRA P29a PMG 64 EPQ UNC

Description

ISRAEL
1958  ISRAEL 1/2 LIRA   PMG 64 EPQ   UNC
1/2 Lira
Obverse:  woman soldier
Reverse:  tomb of the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem
Dominant color:  green
Dimensions:  130 x 72 mm
Signatures:  David Horowitz, Governor Bank of Israel; Yitzhak Nebenzahl, Chairman Advisory Council
Printers (unverified):  Royal Joh. Enschedé, Haarlem/Netherlands
The obverse of the 1/2 Lira (Bank of Israel series II) banknote shows a woman soldier holding a basket of oranges against a background of verdant fields. At least five women - not all on active military service at that time - posed for the photograph that would be used by the designers. When the banknote was released, each claimed that she is the one depicted on the banknote. However, in fact the figure that appears on the 1/2 Lira note is a composite of several photographs of several women. A close look at both the left and right images reveals that there is a distinct likeness between the head of the figure of the banknote and that of the woman in the left photograph. The posture of the body and the way the figure on the banknote holds the basket strongly resemble that of the woman in the right photograph.
The banknote's reverse depicts the Tomb of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, a Jewish burial cave from the late Second Temple period (1st century AD). According to Jewish tradition, members of the Great Sanhedrin, then the highest institute of Jewish law, were buried here.
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