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The first stamps issued by the State of Israel were readied before the end of the British Mandate. That meant that the work had to be carried out in secret and in haste. A factor that held back the printing of the stamps for the nascent state was that the Jewish national leadership had not made a final decision on the name of the new country - the name State of Israel does not appear on the initial printing but rather Doar Ivri ("Hebrew post").
The images appearing on the stamps are those of coins from the epoch of wars of the Second Temple and Bar Kochba. These coins signify the struggles toward and times of Jewish sovereignty in the Eretz Israel. This theme was particularly apt for the situation of the emerging state.
There were nine stamps in the first series:
- The stamp of value 3 m. is of a bronze coin bearing the likeness of a palm tree with seven branches and two clusters of dates. On either side are baskets filled with fruit. Hasmonean coinage, to which this image belongs, dates from 135 to 37 b.c.e. The tab bears a Hebrew phrase meaning "Bronze coin from the period of the Maccabeans or the first revolt" and the Hebrew inscription li-ge’ulat Ziyyon ("For the redemption of Zion").
- The 5 m. stamp shows a vine leaf with small branches and tendrils surrounded by the Hebrew inscription herut Ziyyon ("Freedom of Zion") in ancient Hebrew letters. The tab's Hebrew inscription translates as "Bronze coin from the period of the first revolt" (the Jewish war against Rome, 66-70 c.e.). The coin's inscription herut Ziyyon is written on the tab in the square Hebrew script.
- The 10 m. stamp is from the third year of the war against Rome and shows an amphora with a wide rim, a lid, and two handles. The image is encircled by the term shenat shalosh ("The Third Year," that is 68/69 c.e.) in ancient Hebrew script. The tab's Hebrew inscription is "Bronze coin from the period of the first revolt" and the coin's inscription, shenat shalosh is written in square Hebrew script. The initial tab was incorrect and was changed to "Coin from the period of the second revolt: 'Year one of the redemption of Israel.'" The tab then had four lines instead of five.
- The 15 m. stamps is a coin from the period of the second revolt (132-135 c.e.) with the likeness of a cluster of grapes. The tab reads "Coin from the period of the second revolt" and cites the coin's inscription, shenat ahat li-ge’ulat Yisrael ("Year one of the redemption of Israel). This descriptive tab was changed by the addition of the Hebrew word for "inscription"; the tab then had five lines instead of four.
- The 20 m. stamp is a silver shekel from first revolt. Seen on it is a chalice with nine pearls on the rim. The Hebrew inscription on the tab reads "Silver shekel from the second year of the first revolt" (67/68 c.e.) and "Shekel Israel year two".
- The 50 m. stamp bears the likeness of a coin from the time of the second revolt and shows a lulav and etrog. The tab's Hebrew inscription means "Coin from the period of the second revolt"; the coin's inscription cited on the tab, shenat ahat li-ge’ulat Yisrael, means "Year one of the redemption of Israel."
- The 250 m. coins shows both the obverse and reverse of a silver shekel from the second year of the first revolt (67/68 c.e.). The obverse shows a chalice with nine pearls on its rim; its Hebrew inscription, in ancient script, is shekel Yisrael ("shekel of Israel"). On the reverse appears a stem with three fruits, apparently pomegranates, encircled by the inscription "Jerusalem the Holy." The tab, in square Hebrew script, states "Silver shekel from the second year of the first revolt" and the inscriptions that appear on the coin, "Shekel Israel year two" and Yerushalayim ha-kedoshah ("Jerusalem the Holy").
- The 500 m. and 1000 m. stamps bear silver shekel coins with the same images as the previous coin but date from the third and fourth year of the first revolt, respectively. The tab inscriptions are "Silver shekel from the third year of the first revolt" and the coin's inscriptions, "Shekel Israel year three" and "Jerusalem the Holy" and "Silver shekel from the fourth year of the first revolt" and the coin's inscriptions, "Shekel Israel year four" and "Jerusalem the Holy."
