From 1923 until May 1948, Palestine was under a British Mandate. Beginning in 1927, on the Eve of the tenth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, Palestine began producing its own money. The coins and banknotes that were legal tender during these two decades are especially interesting both to collectors and historians. A brief history of Palestine up to 1948 and information on the Palestine Currency Board provide background information. Complete numismatic information is then presented for each coin and banknote. Also covered are the mysterious 1927 Holyland Token, counterfeit issues, and vignettes of the religious sites featured on banknotes. Appendices present the text of the British Mandate for Palestine, catalog numbering systems for Palestine coins and banknotes, and a checklist for collectors. (The text does not introduce a new numbering system.) Color and black and white illustrations bring these beautiful pieces of currency, many now rarities, to life.

Retired college professor and inventor Howard M. Berlin lives in Wilmington, Delaware. He holds three United States patents for his inventions and is the author of over 30 books on diverse subjects, including cinema and numismatics. He has been collecting coins and banknotes of the Palestine Mandate for over two decades, has exhibited his collection widely, winning numerous awards. He is a member of the Numismatic Literary Guild.

Howard M. Berlin
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 170
Bibliographic Info: 88 photos (26 in color), maps, tables, references, appendices, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2005 [2001]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2445-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0672-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface      1

1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF PALESTINE UP TO 1948      3

What Is Palestine?      3

Palestine Prior to 1918      5

The Balfour Declaration      6

The British Occupation and Mandate      7

The Final Partition of Palestine      12

2. THE PALESTINE CURRENCY BOARD      15

The Palestine Currency Order of 1927      15

The Formation and Operation of the Palestine Currency Board      18

Numismatic Changes During World War II      22

The Mandate’s Final Years      24

Chronology Table      26

3. COINAGE      31

Introduction      31

Arabic Numbers and Dating      33

1 Mil      34

2 Mils      35

5 Mils      37

10 Mils      38

20 Mils      40

50 Mils      42

100 Mils      43

1947 Dated Coins      44

Proof Coins and Sets      45

4. THE 1927 HOLYLAND TOKEN      49

Origins      49

Coin or Token?      50

5. BANK NOTES      55

Introduction      55

Legends      56

Dates of Issue and Signatures      56

Watermark      59

Five Hundred Mils      59

One Palestine Pound      62

Five Palestine Pounds      64

Ten Palestine Pounds      66

Fifty Palestine Pounds      68

One Hundred Palestine Pounds      71

Cancellation of Regular Issued Bank Notes      76

Specimen Bank Notes      77

Between pages 84 and 85 are eight color plates containing 26 photographs

6. VIGNETTES ON THE BANK NOTES OF THE PALESTINE CURRENCY BOARD      85

Rachel’s Tomb      85

The Dome of the Rock      88

The Tower of Ramlah      96

The Citadel and Tower of David      98

7. COUNTERFEIT COINS AND BANK NOTES      101

Coins      101

Bank Notes      103

Appendix A. Text of the Mandate for Palestine      109

Appendix B. Catalog Number Equivalents      117

Appendix C. Checklist for Collectors      124

Chapter Notes      129

References      143

Index      149

Best Book—Numismatic Literary Guild
“a thoroughly researched, heavily illustrated, and cross-referenced text…sure to become the standard work in this field”—Paper Money.