25 Lirot Hanukkah - France Lamp

Israel's annual Hanukkah coin series, begun in 1958, draws each year from a different diaspora community's lamp tradition. The 1979 issue references the French Jewish community, whose distinctive Hanukkah lamps — often crafted in silver with a back-plate design reflecting French decorative arts — became prized objects during the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly among established Alsatian and Lorraine Jewish families.

Copper-nickel Hanukkah issues from this period were struck for circulation alongside silver proof counterparts. The circulation strikes saw genuine everyday use in Israel during a period of severe inflation — the lirot was replaced entirely by the shekel just three years later, in 1980.