10 Sheqalim Independence - Israel's Brotherhood

Issued to mark Israel's 36th Independence Day, this coin belongs to a series the Bank of Israel produced annually in gold and silver from the early 1960s onward, each year assigned a thematic subject drawn from Jewish history or national life. The 36th anniversary carries particular weight in Jewish tradition: 36 is double chai, chai being the Hebrew word for "life" with a numerical value of 18, making milestone years at that multiple culturally significant beyond the simple count.

KM#138 was struck at the Berne mint under contract, as Israel had no domestic facility capable of producing commemorative gold to that specification at the time.