Israel Coins and Medals Corp. is the body permitted by the Government of Israel to issue the official State Medals of Israel and under an exclusive contract with the

Bank of Israel The Bank of Israel (, ) is the central bank of Israel. The bank's headquarters is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Jerusalem with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Amir Yaron. The primary objective of the Bank of Israel is to ...

, the corporation is the exclusive worldwide distributor of the commemorative coins and special banknote issues of the Bank of Israel. From its inception in 1958 until 2008, the corporation was fully owned by the Government. In 2008, it was privatized. The corporation has its own manufacturing plant, where commemorative coins for the Bank of Israel, Israel State medals and privately ordered medals are minted.

History

Israel Coins and Medals Corp. was established in 1958 by the first

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...

David Ben Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder and first prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency from 1935, and later president of the Jewish Agency ...

, and was to be an

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

Jewish people Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

and the world, through distribution of the Commemorative Coins issued by the

and the Official State Medals. Since its establishment, the Israel Coins and Medals Corp. has maintained its

original Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

character and values, as Ben Gurion had envisioned. In 2008, the corporation was privatized, according to a decision made by the Israeli Government, and purchased by G.R.A.S Design Combinations Ltd., following a stringent selection process.

Corporation's Aims

The aims of the

Corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

are to commemorate historical and national events, scientific

accomplishment {{Short pages monitor