Pendant bearing portrait of Theodor Herzl. [Bulgaria? Eastern Europe?], 5679 / 1919.
Brass, cast.
Obverse: Profile of Theodor Herzl, facing leftward, with the inscription: "Dr. Theodor Herzl" (Hebrew). Reverse: the Hebrew inscription: "In Commemoration of the celebration of ‘the Day of the Shekel’ Year 1919". Marked "HC" (Cyrillic letters?).
"Yom HaShekel" (lit. "Day of the Shekel") was an early Zionist holiday, celebrated by a number of Jewish communities, particularly in Bulgaria, in the cities of Sofia, Vidin, Ruse, and other places. The inspiration for the holiday came from a symbolic coin issued by the Zionist Movement, known as "HaShekel HaZioni" ("the Zionist Shekel"), which was sold in the form of an illustrated banknote. It entitled its bearer with the right to vote in the Zionist Congress. On the Zionist Shekel bill dated 1919 – the year the present pendant was created – was an illustration of an imaginary coin bearing a portrait of Theodor Herzl, facing leftward. This imaginary coin was very similar to the pendant presented here (see Kedem, auction no. 9, lot 307).
In Bulgarian Jewish communities, "Yom HaShekel" developed into a genuine holiday, and from 1901 onward, it was marked every Lag Ba’Omer with festive marches, blue-and-white ribbons, and special communal prayers in the synagogue. The holiday was also marked by other Jewish communities, mostly in Eastern Europe, and mostly on a smaller scale.

Diameter: approx. 28 mm. Suspension ring. Gilt.