coin, or token?

Among a couple hundred foreign coins my dad had, I found this item. My guess is that it's a token, but the origin escapes me ... probably middle-east(?) Any identification will be appreciated.

Phone token from Israel I think

Israel would have been my guess, too. But, a token to use a phone rather than a coin? What's up with that?

Citeer: "nomojoxrx"​Israel would have been my guess, too. But, a token to use a phone rather than a coin? What's up with that?

​It is a phone token from Israel.

טלפו in the lower part means "phone"
תא in the top left means "cell"

Plus, numbers from 1 to 0 like on a phone.

Seems to be this one

Citeer: "nomojoxrx"​Israel would have been my guess, too. But, a token to use a phone rather than a coin? What's up with that?

​I bet you're too young to have seen those public phone :

and even then, believe it or not, there were paper GPS systems, we called them road paper maps

Citeer: "Frenchlover"​​and even then, believe it or not, there were paper GPS systems, we called them road paper maps

​This brings back memories: the yearly updated, fist-thick 100,000 streets book! Always lying in the trunc of the car when you needed it.

Citeer: "nomojoxrx"​Israel would have been my guess, too. But, a token to use a phone rather than a coin? What's up with that?

​The big advantages of tokens are that they are more stable in value than currency, and can be shaped in such a way that they are easier to detect by the machine.
Also, if your service would be priced 15 cents, then one token is easier to handle than three nickels.

Those old enough can remember dials on rotary phones instead of keys. Reverse of token looks just like a rotary phone dial and makes identification easy for oldsters. Those even older can remember "party lines" when different households shared phone numbers and were distinguished by distinctive rings. And before that there were phones you cranked to get an operator to place your call. And how many of you remember having to push a big fat button to turn on lights instead of flipping a switch? And how many know "typewriter" first meant the person doing the typing on a "typewriting machine"? Maybe more remember the original 8-inch floppy disks, not the hard plastic ones that can't even be found now. Memories, memories

Will

Thanks for that trip down memory lane ;-) [and I do remember all of those]
By the way, I have used those phone tokens on a trip to Israel back in the late 80s, and I still have a few of them!
Alex.

Citeer: "Coinman48"​Those old enough can remember dials on rotary phones instead of keys. Reverse of token looks just like a rotary phone dial and makes identification easy for oldsters. Those even older can remember "party lines" when different households shared phone numbers and were distinguished by distinctive rings. And before that there were phones you cranked to get an operator to place your call. And how many of you remember having to push a big fat button to turn on lights instead of flipping a switch? And how many know "typewriter" first meant the person doing the typing on a "typewriting machine"? Maybe more remember the original 8-inch floppy disks, not the hard plastic ones that can't even be found now. Memories, memories
​
​Will

​I've still got an 8" disk with Q-Basic on it and also a CD Video disk (which is a gold 12" disk) of a Tina Turner concert (Rio 88). Of course I've got nothing to play either of them on

WOW, do I have you guys conned - got you all thinking I'm a young pup, when in reality, I'm older than dirt! Not only do I remember payphones but, the last time I used one, it cost a nickel!; I not only remember 'paper GPS', I still have a bunch of used ones from my earlier-day travels while hitch-hiking from Ohio to Florida and California in the 60's; my 4 children were embarrassed to have friends over to our house because I refused to pay extra on our at&t phone bill for 'touch-tone' phones in the 70's. Can you even imagine me being a teenager in the 50's and not only having JUST ONE phone in the entire house, with a rotary dial, wall mounted, with a party line?!?! I'm considering contacting my congressman and demanding reparations!!!

Back to 'business' ... thank you all for the information on my token. I'm still a little surprised that it was used in place of coin(s) on a pay phone - I guess it would make more sense to me if were also legal tender (which I'm sure it was not) or, it served the same purpose as 'forever' stamps in the USA that were viable no matter if cost increases occurred.

But I digress! I do have one more question - even though I tried researching Hebrew numbers online, I can't determine the year on my token. If I'm reading the comments correctly, they were only made in 1981 and 1982, so it must be one of them - can anyone confirm which?

One more thing in passing ... among all the 'crap' I have retained over the years, I still continue to embarrass my now-adult children by having 2 (not only one, but two!) typewriters among my treasures! Someday, I may find a use for them!

Citeer: "Coinman48"... Maybe more remember the original 8-inch floppy disks, not the hard plastic ones that can't even be found now. Memories, memories
​
​Will

​ Not old enough for that

I've just used 5"¼ disks on IBM PC, one floppy disc for the DOS and the other for the application and no hard disk
And the first game I remember : Decathlon, by hitting two keys as fast as possible

Citeer: "nomojoxrx"​​...
​But I digress! I do have one more question - even though I tried researching Hebrew numbers online, I can't determine the year on my token. If I'm reading the comments correctly, they were only made in 1981 and 1982, so it must be one of them - can anyone confirm which?
​...
​

See in the Numista sheet : תש מ״א on obverse = 5741 (1981)

OK, Frenchlover - you may have me beat ... BUT, I do have about 300 5 1/4 disks sitting on a shelf from my days with Xerox - never used!!! If you need some, just give me a shout!

Souvenirs souvenirs ... in the late 90's I remember having the first and only type of Digital Equipment Coprporation laptop and of course after a while the battery was dead and it was definitely outdated. By chance I was in contact with a Japanese who collected all the old computers carefully stored with the correct operating system in his two-room apartment in Osaka. He went crazy when he saw my relic! He showed me pictures of his room full of dozens of old, tidy computers carefully stored and piled up.
He lived in the other room.
He paid the shipping costs and I sent him my old computer for free

I'm not trying to one-up you - but, in the early 80's Xerox (the company I worked for for over 30 years) introduced a personal computer (desktop - a quite large desktop!) called the model 820. If I recall correctly. it had 64k RAM and used 8" floppies. "State of the art"! I believe that earlier in the 80's, Xerox bought SDS, a computer company owned by Ross Perot. I don't know of any fellow sales people that ever sold even one computer! (BUT, of course, we had a budget to sell them - it was like trying to sell ice to Eskimos.)

Let me know if you want any 5 1/4 disks!