LITHUANIA EURO COIN WITH HEBREW LETTERS
The E-Sylum (10/25/2020)
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Arthur Shippee and Howard Berlin passed along this Jerusalem Post article about a new Lithuanian coin with Hebrew lettering. Thanks. -Editor
The Bank of Lithuania minted the first euro piece of currency containing Hebrew letters.
The 10-euro coin was minted on Tuesday and is a limited-edition commemorative collector’s item celebrating the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Vilna Gaon, the 18th-century rabbinical luminary Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who lived and died in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
The heads side of the coin features the Hebrew letter shin, whose value according to the gematria alphanumeric code is 300, followed by the acronym in Hebrew of Gaon Rabbi Elijah. The tails’ rim reads in Hebrew: “The year of the Vilna Gaon and the history of the Jews of Lithuania.â€
The commemoration of individual people is very rare on banknotes and coins of the European Union, partly because of the political sensitivity in a political union made up of former foes.
To read the complete article, see:
Lithuania mints first euro coin with Hebrew letters (https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/lithuania-mints-first-euro-coin-with-hebrew-letters-646773)
The JP article didn't picture the coin, but I found an image elsewhere. -Editor
The reverse of the coin dedicated to the Vilna Gaon depicts ? – the Hebrew crown-shaped letter Shin which in gematria represents the number 300, and גר"א – an acronym for “Ha Gaon Rabbi Elyahuâ€, meaning “Gaon (Genius) Rabbi Elijahâ€. The bottom of the coin features a symbolic Torah scroll with the engraved number 300. The reverse also bears the inscriptions “the Vilna Gaon†and “Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman†in the Lithuanian and Hebrew languages.
The obverse of the silver coin depicts the sign of Lithuanian Jews (Litvaks) – a community identity symbol representing the identification of Lithuanian Jews, as citizens, with the state of Lithuania since the reign of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. The main design of the coin is surrounded by the inscription “The Year of the Vilna Gaon and the History of the Jews in Lithuania†in the Lithuanian and Hebrew languages as well as the number 5780 which stands for the year 2020 in the Jewish calendar. The edge of the coin bears the inscription “If you will it, you too can be a genius†in the Lithuanian and Yiddish languages.
To read the complete article, see:
Pre-orders of the coin dedicated to the Vilna Gaon start on 13 October (https://www.lb.lt/en/news/pre-orders-of-the-coin-dedicated-to-the-vilna-gaon-start-on-13-october)
