I won a 1954, 100 Pruta Copper-Nickel Coin, Utrecht Die on yesterday's Heritage Auction. I have been looking for this rare piece for a few years, and have not seen this variety broadly available in the market. Coin features: Diameter: 25.6 mm. Weight: 7.3 gr. Edge: Smooth. Obverse: Palm tree; "Israel" in Hebrew and Arabic. Origin of motif: Bar-Kochba coin (132 - 135 C.E.). Reverse: The denomination "100 Pruta" and the date in Hebrew; two stylized olive branches. Alloy: Steel 90%, nickel 10%. Date of issue: April 21, 1955. The typical 1954 100 Pruta type has the wreath close to rim as in image below. The Utrecht variety is one of the most famous rarities in the Israel trade coin series. The smaller wreath (farther from rim) variety was struck using in the Royal Dutch Mint at Utrecht. Sylvia Haffner writes: "The 1954 reduced size 100 Pruta was withdrawn from circulation shortly after issue when it was discovered that the similarity in size to the 50 Pruta led to confusion between the two. The number of coins destroyed is not available. The difference between the Berne and Utrecht dies was not discovered until 1960, three years after the coins were released in 1957. Only about 1,000 of the Utrecht die variety are presently believed to exist. Most I have seen are in VF-XF condition. This is the first MS grade of this type I have seen.
