Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Mandate of Palestine 50 mils
Item Number: A24
Year: AD 1939
Manufactured by: South African Mint
Material: Silver
Size: 23.5 x 23.5 mm
Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2023
This is a 50 mils silver coin issued in Palestine (now the region of Israel) during the British Mandate period (AD 1927-1948). The mil was a currency unit that had been abolished in the United Kingdom, with 1000 mils equivalent to 1 pound. The obverse side features an olive branch surrounded by the inscription “Palestine” in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. On either side beneath the olive branch, the casting year is expressed using Western Arabic and Arabic-Indic numerals.
On the reverse side, from top to bottom, the coin denomination is indicated in Arabic, English, and Hebrew, reflecting the local population composition of British, Arab, and Jewish communities. This coin serves as a numismatic artefact that encapsulates the historical and cultural context of the British Mandate era in Palestine.
After the First World War, the British assumed governance of the Palestine region, formerly part of the disintegrated Ottoman Turkish Empire, under the mandate of the League of Nations. In AD 1917, the United Kingdom issued the Balfour Declaration, expressing support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. The declaration, coupled with the rise of Nazi Germany in the AD 1930s, expedited the migration of European Jews to Palestine.
However, the rapid influx of Jewish immigrants, coupled with the dissatisfaction of local Arab populations who had similarly received promises from the British, intensified violent conflicts. These circumstances laid the groundwork for the present-day and highly intricate challenge: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.