Crusader Coins

13th century silver coins of the Crusaders were copies of Islamic coins that feature a Solomon’s seal. The coins were struck at Tripoli, Lebanon from 1220 to 1240 C.E., in order to simplify trade with neighboring Muslim kingdoms

Exclusive Pure Singleness

I found a deep insight about the meaning of the Star of David in different cultures in James B. Klee's article. Here's an excerpt:

In India it is seen as a six-pointed mandala, inclusive of six aspects at least. In the Indian context one senses the inclusiveness of the symbol. Yet its more recent use is to merely label one group, either as a mark on a “foreign” group to be excluded, or even within the group to exclude others. Indeed the star often is a symbol of singleness in the arithmetic sense - be it one of the 13 original colonies, or one of the 50 states, or the lone star state of Texas. In each Western case, the symbol is used to express exclusive pure singleness. Seldom is the sense of the multiple aspects of the figure developed.

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The Transition from Hexagram to Magen David

The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem by Rubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass

This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

In the meantime, before the end of the Thirty Year War, the Jewish community of Prague began to employ a seal showing the hexagram with the six Hebrew characters מגן דוד , Magen David , inscribed in its six angles, for the first time officially combining the design and the term.

Also in Bohemia, the synagogue of Budweis is known as having displayed the Magen David during those centuries.

It was also in Prague that the first Hebrew book ever published in modern book form, the Seder Tefillot, appeared in 1512, with a six-pointed star as the printer's mark and bearing an inscription which says: "Every man under the banner of his father's house....may they be worthy of good gifts, all those who adhere to the Magen David" The transition from the "internationality” of the hexagram to the Jewish Magen David, or Shield of David, was not smooth. On the one hand, Christians and Jews alike used it on amulettes throughout the Middle Ages, but on the other hand there were incidents of persecution of Jews who used it. One such incident involving the six-pointed star occurred in Brandenburg, Germany in the 16th Century. There, a mint master by the name of Lippold struck the coinage of Prince Elector Joachim II, using hexagrams as printer marks on the reverse side of the coins.

 Lippold's coin 1567

After Joachim IInd's death, this was one of the accusations which led to the mint master's execution on the rack. Then, in Moravia, a province neighboring Bohemia, the leaseholder of the mint in Wischnau was dismissed because he, too, used the hexagram as his mint mark.

These incidents may indicate that besides the emperor, non-Jewish circles had also begun to recognize a special connection between the hexagram and the Jews.

Apparently, it reached Vienna through other communities in Bohemia: Viennese Jews are known to have used it on their community's seal in 1655. Better known is the boundary stone of 1656, with the six-pointed star marking the site of the Jewish cemetery, and the cross marking the site of the neighboring Carmelite monastery.

Then we find it in printers' marks on several Jewish books, including an Italian edition of the Rambam's Guide to the Perplexed (Printed at Sabbioneta in 1553). It is shown in tree leaves and is obviously linked to those Psalms which mention the Lord as a shield.

In the following centuries, many European Jewish communities adopted the star as their symbol, among them the Ashkenazi synagogue of Amsterdam (in 1671), which showed it on their building and on cult objects and books.

The 17th-Century Shabtai Zvi movement provided a new interpretation of the symbol, namely, The Seal of MBD, these letters standing for Messiah Ben David, relating the hopes for the final redemption by the Son of David. The linking of the Magen David to such widespread yearnings for redemption from the torment of anti-Semitism, as well as the need for a sign of self-identification in a world where every other group had an emblem of its own, must have been an added impetus for Jewish circles all over the world to adopt this symbol.

All this can be linked to a passage in an ancient prayer, our daily Amidah-prayer, which reads in its English translation: "Let the Branch of David thy servant shoot forth speedily...". Similar also is our special prayer on new moon days, alluding to the Son of David.

Micrography From Germany, Pentateuch From Yemen

The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem by Rubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

Not confined to the realms of the sacred, the hexagram appeared from the 11th century C.E. on the seals of Jews and non-Jews alike.
In 1299, it appears as one of the decorative patterns on a page of masoretic text in micrographic writing in Germany:
Also, a Tanakh, written in 1307 by Rav Joseph Bar Yehudah Ben Marvas of Metudellah (Spain), was decorated with handwriting in the pattern of a hexagram.
In a design similar to that of Beth-El, as shown in fig.6, we find it in a Humash (Pentateuch) manuscript of 1409 in Yemen:

Nabatean bowl, Celtic Brooch

The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem by Rubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

It [the hexagram] played a role in the art of the Nabateans, whose kingdom bordered Israel in ancient times. A painted ceramic bowl [probably of the first century B.C.E.] shows it together
with palm branches:

Dr. Asher Eder’s note:
Stewart Macalister, The Excavations of Gezer, vol.III, Plate 159, no.12. Macalister does not claim the drawing is part of a hexagram, but I mention it since it is sometimes presented as an early example thereof.

It was known also to distant cultures such as the Celts. We find it there on ornamental buttons, or brooches.

Zeevveez's note:
I couldn’t obtain permission to publish the photos of the ceramic bowl and the brooche, which appear in the book.

The Logo of Reiki

William Lee Rand, Usui Reiki Master Lineage, answered my question about the meaning of The Logo of Reiki which looks very similar to a Magen David:

The Japanese kanji in the center of the logo means Reiki which is spiritually guided life energy. The upward pointing triangle represents humanity moving toward God. The downward pointing triangle represents God moving toward humanity. Because the two triangles are united, and balanced, they represent humanity and God working together in harmony. The inner sixteen petaled flower symbolizes the throat chakra or communication. The outer twelve petaled flower symbolizes the heart chakra or love. The complete logo represents Reiki uniting God and humanity in harmony through the communication of love.
The Logo is the Registered Service Mark of The International Center for Reiki Training.

WW2 Medals

Six pointed stars on Great Britain WW2 medals.

Picture is courtesy of Daniel Morris who published it on Flickr and wrote in the caption:

My auntie phoned my mum and asked me to take a photo of my Grandad with his medals from WW2.

Eight campaign six pointed stars were created for the 2nd World War (1939-1945)