1/2 New Sheqel Hanukkah - Prague Lamp

Israel's annual Hanukkah coin series, running since 1958, draws each year from a specific diaspora lamp tradition tied to a distinct Jewish community. The Prague lamp type referenced here reflects the distinctive Bohemian style developed by Central European Jewish communities, whose lamp designs diverged sharply from Sephardic and Middle Eastern forms over centuries of separate development. By 2009 the series had long since exhausted the most obvious regional types, pushing curators toward increasingly specialized archival sources.

KM#436 circulated at face value alongside standard issues, though collector demand typically pulls these from circulation quickly.