Zichron Jacob Tokens

Zichron Ya'acov

Zikhron Ya'akov (Hebrew: lit. 'Jacob's Memorial'), often shortened to just Zikhron, is a town in northern Israel, 35 kilometers south of the city of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District.
Zikhron Ya'akov was founded in December 1882 by 100 Jewish pioneers from Romania, members of the Hibbat Zion movement, who purchased two plots of land from Frances Germain, a French citizen, probably of Christian Arab origin.

In 1883, Baron Edmond James de Rothschild became the patron of the Moshava and drew up plans for its residential layout and agricultural economy. Zikhron was one of the first Jewish agrarian towns to come under the wing of the Baron, who renamed it in memory of his father, James (Ya'akov) Mayer de Rothschild.

Zichron Jacob Tokens

In 1885, about three years after Zichron Yaacov was established, the settlement decided to issue tokens for daily use. The person in charge of the mission was Yehuda Wormser, the Baron's representative in the town, backed by 30,000 French francs to finance this project. Denominations of the tokens were 1, 1/2, and 1/4. Intentionally, a unit of value was not stamped on it to not create friction with Turkish law. It is assumed that Yehuda Wormser relied on the Turkish Piaster. In the Turkish financial system, there were two units Piaster and Para. 1 Piaster was worth 40 Paras, so the issued tokens covered the shortage of 10, 20 Para, and 1 Piaster.
The tokens were made in Paris, minted in brass in three sizes, with the same backside with the inscription 'Zichron Yaacov, ' below two flat arrowheads with a dot below them in the center. On the other side is the token unit number. From left to right, above the center next to the coin's margins, Zichron Yaacov's inscription.
The tokens were also standard in the Arab communities around 'Zichron' and Haifa and Jaffa.
Less than one year later, in early 1886, the Ottomans declared the use of these coins illegal, whereupon (almost) all Zichron Jacob coins were collected, confiscated, and destroyed.
Source:https://il.bidspirit.com

		Haffner: CC-17C	1/4 Piastre Brass Diameter 22 mm
		CC-17B	1/2 Piastre Brass Diameter 23 mm
		CC-17A	1 Piastre Brass Diameter 27 mm
			1 Piastre "Without Tail" Brass Diameter 27 mm