Israel: Eighth gold and silver bullion medals in “Gates of Jerusalem” series released

The Bank of Israel has released their eighth gold and silver medals in the current “Gates of Jerusalem” bullion series, which features landmarks and architectural designs of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem and its eight historic gates. Commencing in 2017 with the release of medals featuring the Jaffa Gate, for 2023, the final release features Herod’s Gate. One of the most noted gates in the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, it was built on the direct orders of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century during the Ottoman Empire. Some believed that the Gate led directly to Herod’s palace, hence the name “Herod’s Gate.” Known by the original Arabic name, Bab-a-Sahairad, it refers to the Muslim burial ground opposite. The Hebrew name can be translated to mean “Flower Gate”; however, the literal translation can be traced to a corrupted version of the original Arabic name. Aside from the gate having been part of a direct path the Herod’s Palace at some stage in ancient history, during Ottoman rule, the entrance served the gateway from the side of the walled city for defence purposes. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the gate was blocked with stones to prevent its use as an entrance and was later reopened in 1875 by the Ottoman soldiers. It was later re-opened in order to provide easy access to the new neighbourhoods that were developing northwards. Today, Herod’s Gate is one of the seven functioning and open gates of the Old City of Jerusalem, which connects the Muslim quarter inside of the old city to the Palestinian neighbourhood of Bab az-Zahra, situated just outside. Herod’s Gate was featured on the reverse side of Israel’s 100-sheqalim banknote in use from 1980 until 1986.

Designed by Zvika Roitman, the obverse side features an unobstructed view of Herod’s Gate along with the tiled pavement in front. Above the primary design is the text in English HEROD’S GATE, along with the same text shown in Hebrew. Below and along the lower edge is the year of release, 2023, and the coin’s fineness indicates gold or silver and the weight of one ounce. The specifications are also shown in Hebrew.

The reverse side, which is common to both gold and silver medals and included throughout the series, depicts a stylized diagram indicating all the eight gates of the Old City and the wall of Jerusalem. Centred is a lion standing on its hind legs as a reference to the city of Jerusalem. The text shown above the primary design reads GATES OF JERUSALEM in English and Hebrew. The mint logo of the Holy Land Mint is placed below the design.

Item	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Quality	Mintage Limit
Silver ounce	.999 Silver	31.1 g	38.7 mm	Proof	1,800
Gold ounce	.9999 Gold	31.1 g	32 mm	Proof	1,800

Each medal is encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. For additional information, please click here.

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