I learned something new today about Israeli coins and now have many more questions

As I was categorizing today my coins in the software, I got to the 1954 Purta



Anacs was nice enough to label this a 13.2a in the Krause and I looked that up and relaized there are actually 3 varieties of these (not the two I thought). Aside from the reeded rarer reeded edge, there is smooth edged ones. But there are two different materials, a coper-nickel version with about 4.5 million strikes, and a steal-nickel version (not sure what it is exactly) that slightly weighs less, 600mgs less, and might be slightly larger (with seems contraraian) in diameter by a 10th of mm. Now I am looking for the mint and it seems the NGC site beleives there is a T mint mark on it for Tel-Aviv.

KM# 13.2 50 PRUTA
5.60 g., Copper-Nickel, 23.5 mm. Obv: Grape
country name in Hebrew and Arabic Rev: Value
Hebrew within wreath Edge: Plain
Date
Mintage
F12 VF20 XF40
JE5714 (1954) (t)
4,500,000
— 0.50 1.00
leaves and
and date in
MS60 MS63
1.50 3.00
KM# 13.2a 50 PRUTA
5.00 g., Nickel Clad Steel, 23.6 mm. Obv: Grape leaves and
country name in Hebrew and Arabic Rev: Value and date in
Hebrew within wreath Edge: Plain
Date
Mintage F12 VF20 XF40 MS60 MS63
JE5714 (1954) (t)
17,773,633
— 0.50 1.00 1.50 3.00

I see no mint marks on it and I'm wondering where it might have been minted?

 

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Die break between the wreath bottoms?

 

OMG - it is broken? That is terrible.

 

Is it attracted by a strong magnet? If so, nickel clad steel.

 

They were only minted at Tel Aviv in 1954 so a mintmark serves no purpose. The earlier 1949 issue KM13.1 was minted at two locations in Great Britain that can be distinguished a pearl.

 

When you see a letter in parentheses in Krause, there isn't a mint mark on the coin. Israel has used a bunch of foreign and domestic mints throughout its history, and Krause usually makes note of which was used for a given date.

 

I trust that Anacs evaluated it correctly, but when I get a chance to get a strong magnet, I will pick on up, if for no other reason than to satisfy this question for the mutliple coin threads that it comes up

 

Wonderful - and that is what makes cointalk special. It would take me months to figure that out by myself.

 

The presence of mint and/or mintmaster’s privy marks on a coin in
non-letter form is indicated by incorporating the a letter in lower case
within parentheses adjoining the date; i.e. 1927(a). The corresponding
mark is illustrated or identified in the introduction of the country.