5 New Sheqalim Nightingale and Fig

Part of Israel's ongoing "Wildlife of the Holy Land" bullion and commemorative series, this issue pairs the nightingale with the fig at a moment when the Bank of Israel was still finding its footing with collector gold — the program had launched only a few years prior and mintages were kept deliberately low to test international demand. The series drew on Levantine natural history with unusual specificity, favoring species with documented biblical or ecological significance over generic heraldic choices.

Struck at the Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation facility in Jerusalem, one of the few national mints operating entirely within its issuing country's borders at the time.