Four-stringed lyre (kinnor or kithara) resembling the image on a coin of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Name of country (Israel) in Hebrew and Arabic.

Kinnor is an ancient Israelite musical instrument, the exact identification of which is unclear, but in the modern day is generally translated as "harp" or "lyre" and associated with a type of lyre depicted in Israelite imagery, particular the Bar Kochba coins. The kinnor is mentioned 42 times in the Old Testament. The kinnor is sometimes mentioned in conjunction with the nevel, which is also presumed to be a lyre but larger and louder than the kinnor.

Bar Kokhba (Son of Kokhba) (also Bar Kochba, Bar Kochva, Bar Cochva) is a name of Simon bar Kokhba, the leader of the Bar Kokhba revolt. The Bar Kokhba revolt (AD 132–136) was the third major rebellion by the Jews of Judaea Province and Eastern Mediterranean against the Roman Empire and the last of the Jewish–Roman Wars. Simon bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, was acclaimed as a Messiah, a heroic figure who could restore Israel. The revolt established an independent state of Israel over parts of Judea for more than two years, but a Roman army made up of six full legions with auxiliaries and elements from up to six additional legions finally crushed it. The Romans then barred Jews from Jerusalem, except to attend Tisha B'Av. Although Jewish Christians hailed Jesus as the Messiah and did not support Bar Kokhba, they were barred from Jerusalem along with the rest of the Jews. The war and its aftermath helped differentiate Christianity as a religion distinct from Judaism.

Wreath of stylized olive branches, denomination and date.

All dates on Israeli coins are given in the Hebrew calendar and are written in Hebrew letters. Hebrew dating formed from a combination of the 22 consonant letters of the Hebrew alphabet and read from right to left.

When the same Pruta series coin was struck by both the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and the Birmingham Mint in Great Britain, to the ICI version a small raised dot - also called "pearl" - was added on the reverse, just below the link near the bottom. Sometimes the pearl almost touches the link, and in other instances the pearl is detached.