10 Lirot Pidyon Haben

The Pidyon Haben — redemption of the firstborn son — is a biblical ritual from Numbers 18 requiring a father to symbolically redeem his firstborn male child from a kohen (priest) with five silver shekels, forty days after birth. Israel began issuing official silver coins specifically for this ceremony in 1970, providing a halachically acceptable substitute for the five ancient shekels. The 1974 issue is part of that ongoing series rather than a commemorative struck for general circulation, meaning most examples were acquired for ritual use and stored immediately afterward.

Uncirculated survivors are common precisely because the coin's function demanded preservation, not spending.