By Jim Duncan (comments to Jim Duncan, please)
About a thousand Years ago, when I was interested in the modern coins of Israel, I bought for $5 from the late Milan Anders a piece which he described as a "Hebrew Redemption Token". One side shows a cup or chalice with `steam' rising from it, and a legend composed of letters which appear to mimic Hebrew. Under the cup is the tiny legend SPENCER . LONDON The other side shows a tree or a branch, straight up-and-down, with branches of leaves an either side. And more almost-Hebrew lettering. I've never had it out of its 2x2 holder until now, but it appears to be white metal, is a little stained but uncirculated, and is 35mm in diameter. I would date it to about 1900 on appearance. It is certainly die struck. I don't know now long I have had it as I never catalogued it since I did not know what it was, or believe what I was told ~ but it must have been 15 years at least. I even took it to London where Edward Baldwin looked at it, rubbed his chin and said "Breslau". I was none the wiser, and he didn't add much more!
But an article in "Coin News", March 1998, tells me almost all!
It is not a Redemption anything. According to Marvin Tameanko it is a "Censer Piece" - a token of religious fervour. And he lists a number of them, issued over 400 years, together with some illustrations. All things come to those who wait!
His story is that it has originally produced so that visitors to the Holy Land could take home some original souvenir of their visit. It was supposed to be an exact replica of one of the 30 pieces of silver for which Christ was betrayed, but is in fact a poor copy of a Shekel of the First Revolt of the Jews, 66-70AD, 30-some years later than the betrayal. The tourists never knew the difference! Tameanko says 130,000 of these were sold in 14 days during 1466 at the "Angel's Consecration Festival" at Einsiedeln, Germany, and they continued to be produced in one form or another right up to, and possibly into, the 20th century.
This is almost as bad as plastic tikis, but Tameanko has a wealth of references, including a cataloguing by Bruno Kisch, published in Historia Judaica, October, 1941. The catalogue - "Shekel Medals and False Shekels" took 34 pages, and listed 81 pieces from Germany and America as well as from private collections. However it entirely overlooked the pieces produced in England, including mine.
The design mimics the Shekel but for the steam/smoke coming out of the chalice - "censer". And the tree/ branch on the other side is vaguely similar to the pomegranate, they're both plants. The legend is accurate - SHEKEL (of) ISRAEL and JERUSALEM THE HOLY and is in medieval, so-called `modern square' Hebrew letters while the Shekel is in ancient Paleo-Hebrew. An explanation given for the steam is that `modern' engravers took the two letters Shin Bet (Year Two) to be smoke arising from incense burning in the `censer', others say it is a pot of manna. Likewise, the pomegranate branch with three buds was considered to be the rod of Aaron which miraculously flowered acid budded in the Bible, hence the bigger branch. I have included an illustration of the piece which mine is most like, together with the inspiration - the First Revolt Shekel, year 2, Major differences are that mine is larger (!) , and the smoke or fumes emitting from my chalice are more symmetrical. It intrigues me that Mr Tameanko quotes a 19th century brass specimen as having the words SPENGLER . LONDON (where mine has SPENCER..) beneath the chalice of one of this same class - Kisch type A and also B1-36. The piece illustrated is 28-32mm, mine 35mm, and it appears in silver, bronze or white metal. Mine is white metal.
The caption he gives the piece I will quote in full: "This type is the earliest but most enduring design for the Censer Piece. It is similar to the unique piece dated 1584. It also includes the tokens shown in the paintings by van Leyden, 1530?, in the book by Villipandus, 1604, and those used by John Palmer of Gloucester to decorate his bells in 1650-1663, This same design was repeated by two centuries and also copied in cast iron by a London medal dealer in 1895 who advertised it as a "facsimile" of the Thirty Pieces of Silver. The example of this type of token in the Jewish Museum, London, is silver and was so highly valued by its owner that it is set in glass with a gold frame and ring for suspension (catalogue no. 1137), Another, 19th century brass specimen of this token has been found with the words SPENGLER . LONDON engraved in small letters beneath the censer vessel."
Neither Spengler nor an appropriate Spencer is mentioned in Forrer's work on engravers etc.
Some historians believe the first pieces were made at Goerlitz, in Prussia, in about 1480. Goerlitz is about 100 miles from Breslau, so Edward Baldwin was close! The other town, Einsiedeln, is hundreds of miles from both, near Lake Constance.
So mine, and many like it, are souvenirs of a trip - real or `spiritual' - to the Holy Land. No doubt they have been sold to deceive as Shekels, but this was net the original intention. I must send a photo of mine to Marvin Tameanko.
(There are genuine Redemption Coins issued by the modern State of Israel as Pidyon HaBen coins. The first was in 1970. Traditionally, the first-born son was offered to the priesthood, but could be redeemed for 5 shekels of silver. And these modern pieces gave Israelis the chance to continue the tradition - five of the shekels weigh slightly more than the required amount of pure silver. The coins may be returned to the parent after redemption as a gift. The nominal value was 10 pounds, changing to 25 lirot, and the last issue shown in K-M is 1977, so there are 8 year-issues. A good numismatic library and a useful Hebrew reference library have failed to provide any record of other Redemption coins, but I am too smart to say `there are none', Even the Israel Coins & Medals Co brochure which describes the Pidyon HaBen coin makes no mention of any earlier special redemption pieces.)
Any other numismatist is welcome to fill the gap, please. And I would be delighted to hear from anyone with a similar piece - there are at least 5 different types of chalices - I'd be happy to compare notes and to provide photocopies if necessary.
Note from Martin: here are illustrations of a related piece (not Jim's one):
