Let's play a game...

Was it the photo that clinched it? Is the one you posted yours?

 

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What's the history behind it?

 

Yeah, it was the photo that clinched it, but I was thinking it was a Palestinian token of some sort as soon as Palestine was mentioned. Unfortunately, the posted one is just an image I snagged from NGC's web site. This is a really neat and rare piece!

 

Mods, what are the rules regarding using information directly from a reference book?

 

Was it from Daniel Carr

 

Paul's winning guess was his second guess in round 5.

 

Actually, Paul M asked a question "Is it dated 1927?" and then made his official guess.

Thank you - just what I was hoping to hear. (Wanted to ask first to keep everyone happy...had this all typed up and ready to go.)

 

Palestine Holyland Token​

From The Coins and Banknotes of Palestine Under the British Mandate, 1927-1947, first published in 2001 by McFarland. Author: Howard M. Berlin

"The 1927 Holyland Token"​

Perhaps one of the most interesting topics debated in Judaic numismatics is the uncertainty surrounding the origin of the 1927 Holyland Token, sometimes referred to as the "Souvenir Mil." The true story about why this particular item was made has never been known with a high degree of certainty. I use the generalized term "item" here because many of the dealers and collectors with who I have had discussions about this specimen have no consensus of opinion whether or not to correctly classify it as a coin, pattern, or a token.

My summary (which I think will be okay?):

Coin/Pattern - it looks very similar to the actual coins produced by the British Mandate of Palestine in 1927, however, there are some spelling errors in the Arabic that would lead one to believe it could never have been produced by an Arabic nation. Also, certain phrases relating to Israel were included that also would never have been included by an Arabic nation. However, too many examples have been found for what they'd consider normal patterns.

Token - lots of visitors wanted to take home a souvenir of their visit to the Holyland, and they were taking all the new Palestinian coins home, so they made this token as a substitute. However, not enough examples of this item have been found for that to have been reasonably true.

Here is a screenshot of NGC's World Coin Price Guide Search, which anyone can access online HERE)

 

Additional fun fact:

I had no idea that Palestine is the ONLY sovereign country to ever have coins minted with its name on them without ever having technically existed (link.)

 

Tis' why I asked sir.

 

I just typed in a short self-summary of the edited information. That should be acceptable, yes?

 

Wow dang I was so close (not really). Fun contest though!
I liked how you named your picture "mysterious item"
Congrats Paul M!

 

Ha..well, it WAS named "Palestine - 1927 Holyland Token" which would have kind of been a pretty strong hint...lol

 

Congrats, Paul. Fun game!

 

Thank you for hosting this contest, it was fun.

 

Thank you it was fun and congratulations to Paul

Sent from my A463BG using Tapatalk

 

Fun game. Hope we can do it again!