Jerusalem Silver

Israel's Official Mint Silver Round

The Jerusalem series is an annual silver bullion round produced by the Holy Land Mint, officially the Israel Coins and Medals Corporation (ICMC). Founded in 1958 by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion as the official mint and medal producer for the State of Israel, the institution operated under full government ownership for 50 years before being privatised in 2008. The new owners continued the mint's traditional product lines while expanding into bullion rounds.

Each round contains 1 troy ounce of .999 fine silver and features the city of Jerusalem with a dove carrying an olive branch, the mint's signature Dove of Peace motif introduced in 2014. The dove-and-olive-branch draws on the biblical story of Noah, where a dove returned with an olive branch to signal the receding of flood waters. The obverse renders the Old City skyline with its iconic walls, domes, and towers, the word "JERUSALEM" inscribed as part of the imagery. The reverse carries the Holy Land Mint logo, year of issue, and weight and purity markings.

The 2024 issue marked the 10th anniversary of the Dove of Peace bullion series, celebrated with a special privy-mark edition limited to 10,000 pieces. The series is also available as 1 kilo silver bars and in gold versions (1/10 oz and 1 oz rounds). Despite the mint's institutional pedigree as Israel's official coin producer, the Jerusalem rounds are not legal tender; they carry no face value or government-backed denomination. The mint separately produces legal tender commemorative coins for the Bank of Israel across series including Biblical Art, UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Israel, and Views of Israel.

Jerusalem Silver Round Details

Security relies on the Holy Land Mint hallmark logo on the reverse, weight and purity stamps ("ONE TROY OUNCE .999 FINE SILVER"), and the year of issue. There are no holograms, serial numbers, or edge lettering. The mint's official status as Israel's national coin and medal producer, established by government mandate in 1958, provides institutional credibility that most private mints cannot match.

The separate "Jerusalem of Gold" numismatic bullion series (not the same product) offers .9999 fine gold coins with 3,600 mintage per issue, carrying Bank of Israel legal tender status. The silver Jerusalem round and the gold Jerusalem of Gold coin share imagery of the Holy City but are distinct product lines with different metal, purity, legal status, and pricing.

Silver Round Tax Treatment

As a non-legal-tender silver round, the Jerusalem falls under standard silver bullion tax rules in each jurisdiction, without the legal tender benefits that can reduce tax burdens on sovereign-minted coins in some countries.

In the United Kingdom, 20% VAT applies on purchase. No CGT exemption is available since the round is not UK legal tender. In the European Union, standard VAT rates apply to silver rounds (17% to 27% by country). EU member states that offer margin scheme treatment for silver generally restrict it to pre-owned coins, not new-production rounds from non-EU mints.

In the United States, sales tax varies by state. The round may face difficulties with IRA eligibility: IRS rules for precious metals IRAs typically require coins to be legal tender or bars from accredited refiners. As a non-legal-tender round from a mint that is not on the LBMA Good Delivery list, custodian acceptance is not guaranteed. Capital gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.

In Canada, silver at 99.9% purity is GST/HST exempt, and the .999 purity qualifies. In Australia, silver at 99.9% purity in a form commonly traded on commodity markets qualifies for GST exemption. New Zealand exempts silver at 99.9% from GST. In Singapore, the IPM exemption requires legal tender status for coins or bars from qualifying refiners; the Jerusalem round may not qualify, meaning 9% GST would apply. Hong Kong has no sales tax on precious metals.

Jerusalem Round vs Other National Mint Silver

The Holy Land Mint's institutional heritage, founded just 10 years after Israeli independence in 1948, places the Jerusalem round in an unusual category. It comes from a nationally significant mint but is not legal tender, which means it competes on brand recognition and design appeal rather than on the tax advantages that sovereign coins enjoy.

Against mainstream 1 oz silver rounds, the Jerusalem holds an advantage in institutional credibility over typical private mint rounds from operations like Scottsdale Mint or Intaglio Mint. The annual release pattern and consistent Dove of Peace design are similar to the approach used by the Canadian Maple Leaf or Austrian Philharmonic, though without their legal tender status and global distribution networks.

The 10th anniversary (2024) privy-mark edition at 10,000 pieces introduces a collector dimension that standard bullion rounds lack. For buyers in the US market, where the Holy Land Mint distributes through APMEX, Bold Precious Metals, JM Bullion, Provident Metals, and GovMint, the round is readily accessible. In the UK and EU, availability is more limited and subject to VAT on silver.

Premiums are moderate for the silver rounds, generally comparable to other recognisable-brand 1 oz rounds. The 1 kilo silver bar version offers a lower per-ounce premium for buyers who want the Jerusalem design at a larger scale. For collectors who value the design's cultural and religious significance, the round occupies a niche that no other major mint product fills. For pure bullion accumulation at the lowest cost, sovereign mint coins from the major producers remain more cost-effective and liquid.