Untitled / Ink and Gouache on paper / ca.57X42.5 cm / Signed

1-3. Three paper tokens, Zichron Ya'akov. Printed on the three is the inscription: Zicron Jacob, and the three bear a serial number and a signature (by hand). Two bear ink stamps: "[V]a'ad hamoshav---", "moshava zichron ya'akov" (partial). Two: 3.2X3 cm, one: 3X4 cm. Condition: VG-F (stains, creases and wear). 4. Brass token in the value of 1 (Piaster or Metlik), for use by Zichron Ya'akov inhabitants. Minted in Paris in 1885. Obverse: "Zichron Jacob" and denomination. Reverse: "זכרון יעקב". Diameter: 25 mm. Condition: Good. The four tokens, were attached to a letter sent to an addressee in Jerusalem in February 1924. The following information is gathered from the letter (enclosed): The tokens were called Saghtuts and had the value of 2.5 Para or 1/16 Piaster. The writer claims that their origin is in the wine cellars of Zichron Ya’akov. Further in the letter, the writer tells about the attitude of the Moshava committee to these tokens and their legal status as money substitutes. The letter was sent by H.G. Lauft (?), P.O.Box 248 Jerusalem, to Mr. Heyman. The paper tokens are rare (additional copies are unknown to us) and their nature has not been sufficiently studied. The letter presented here is one of the only sources of information regarding these tokens.

1. Mazzoth-Bezugskarte [Matzzot Distribution Card], on behalf of the Vienna Jewish Community. Vienna, 1918. Printed card (with details filled out by hand), for three kilograms of Mattzoth.
2. Member card, on behalf of the "Union of Russian Jews for Mutual Aid in Kushta". Kushta (Istanbul), 1923. Granted to David Aharonovich Fredkin. A card printed in Russian. Details of card holder added by hand. Signed by the chairman and secretary of the organization and including ink stamps of the organization (Russian and Hebrew).
3. Receipt. [Europe], 1830s. Printed on blueish paper (with additions by hand).
Sizes and conditions vary.

Sixty-five cardboard tokens worth 5 Pruta each, "Good for a ride" with the companies "Dan" and "Eshed". Tel-Aviv and Haifa, [1950s].
During the years 1953-1955 there was a serious shortage of metal coins of less than 10 Pruta; the coins of 1 and 5 Pruta, minted in 1949, slowly disappeared and were not sufficient for the needs of the growing population. The transportation companies, which needed "small change" for purchase of tickets, issued tokens during the 1950s. Tickets which were not used as tokens were donated to "Magen David Adom". 4X3 cm. Condition varies. Wear.
See: Stahl, Zvi: The History of Public Transportation in Palestine, Reflected on Fare Tickets (1995), pp. 127-128.