Holy Land ‘Sale Of The Century:’ A Half Ton Of Historic Judaica Coins, Medals, and Memorabilia

The comprehensive collection will be sold at auction by Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, October 19 and 20, 2026

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, September 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The largest private collection ever assembled of items issued by the Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation will be offered in an auction by Goldberg Coins & Collectibles (www.GoldbergCoins.com) of Los Angeles on October 19 and 20, 2026.

Bidding can be done online. There will be three separate auction sessions for the more than 1,000 coins in the multi-million-dollar collection offered as single-item lots or groups. A fourth session will include medals, Bibles, and other Holy Land-related books.

Described as “The Holy Land Sale of the Century,” the collection was assembled by a devoted collector in Kansas who was born in Israel. It required about 50 boxes and sturdy containers to pack and ship the 1,000-pound collection to California for the auction.

“I began collecting at an early age. My Father bought the first medal the government issued, and it was displayed in our house. That got me curious. Over the years, I frequently visited the Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation headquarters in Jerusalem and met with executives,” explained the collector, who wants to remain anonymous.

The Israel Coins and Medals Corp. was established in 1958 by Prime Minister Ben Gurion to commemorate the historical events and milestones of the State of Israel, as well as its outstanding personalities and achievements in culture, science, and art.

“This passionate collector of Judaica has been accumulating everything produced by the Corporation for over 50 years. He collected all medals and associated items, including many limited editions and individually numbered items,” said Ira Goldberg, Co-Owner of Goldberg Coins & Collectibles in Los Angeles.

“The historic 12 ancient tribes of Israel are represented in magnificent .750 fine gold medals,” added Goldberg. “These large, oval proof medals were issued in 1973 for Israel’s 25th anniversary and feature Salvador Dali’s ‘Hora around the Menorah’ design on the back.”

The massive collection is being expertly cataloged by internationally recognized expert and award-winning author Mel Wacks, a Co-Founder and Past President of the American Israel Numismatic Association and Co-Founder of the Biblical Numismatic Society.

“The sheer quantity of material consigned to the auction is impressive! All of the coins and medals are as perfect as the day they were minted, and many of the gold coins are among the two or three finest known. This is the largest collection of its kind I’ve ever seen, with huge amounts of gold, but also with many lots that are valued at under $100,” declared Wacks.

“Collectors who buy items based on certain topics will have choices ranging from many Bible quotes and Biblical scenes to images of tanks and ships. There are also many medals containing colored silkscreens of art by Rembrandt, Modigliani, and others. In addition to the many gold coins and medals in the auction, there will be a great number of large bronze medals that are estimated to go for less than $100 for lots of 16 different pieces,” said Wacks.

A major highlight of the auction is one of only ten known 1960 Israel 1 Agora with 8 grains depicted in the barley stalks design on the back of the coin.

“In 1960, the Bank of Israel introduced a new scalloped aluminum coin with a 1 agora denomination. The design featured three stalks of barley. During the initial design phase, the trial minting — or pattern coin — struck by Imperial Chemical Industries in Birmingham, England, depicted eight grains on the left barley stalk,” explained Wacks.

“However, the Bank of Israel’s design committee ultimately decided to change the look, mandating that the left stalk contain ten grains instead. The 10-grain version became the standard coin released to the public. Because the design was altered before mass production, only a tiny handful of the 8-grain pattern coins were ever saved, with only 10 examples known,” he said.

Another highlight is the Shekel Prize Medal Issued by the American Israel Numismatic Association, described as the rarest item in this auction.
“While the Shekel Prize Medal has been presented each year since 2018 to authors of books about Judaean or Israeli coins and medals, only one Shekel medal was offered to the public,” Wacks revealed.

“This example originally was engraved with an error in the spelling of the awardee. The misspelled name was subsequently rubbed off, and the medal was sold to this auction’s consignor and is unique.”

The high-relief Shekel Prize Medal was designed by Victor Huster and features an image depicting three different shekels: an 8th-century BCE shekel stone weight, a shekel of the First Revolt (66-70 CE), and 1 new shekel issued by Israel beginning in 1985.

A set of six Women In Art colored .750 fine gold state medals is described as “a museum in a box!” Each of the 36 x 45mm oval medals depicts artwork created by acclaimed masters, such as Delacroix, Pissarro, and Rembrandt.

The auction lots are available online at www.GoldbergCoins.com. Printed Holy Land Collection catalogs are available for $25 each postpaid while supplies last. For additional information, call Goldberg Coin & Collectibles at 800-978-2646.

Donn Pearlman
Donn Pearlman, Inc.
+1 847-971-0566
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