The old Israeli shekel, then known as the shekel (, formally ''sheqel'', . , ''Sheqalim''; , ''šēkal,'' formerly '', šēqal'' until 2014; code ), was the

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

of the State of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

between 24 February 1980 and 31 December 1985. It was replaced by the

Israeli new shekel The new Israeli shekel (, ; ; currency symbol, sign: Shekel sign, ₪; ISO 4217, ISO code: ILS; unofficial abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel (; ), is the currency of Israel and is also used as a legal tender in the Pa ...

at a ratio of 1,000:1 on 1 January 1986. The old shekel was short-lived due to its

hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...

. The old shekel was subdivided into 100 new agorot (). The

shekel sign The shekel sign ⟨₪⟩ is a currency sign used for the shekel, the currency of Israel. Israeli new shekel (1986–present) The Israeli new shekel (, ), also known by the acronym NIS ( ), was announced officially on 22 September 1985, when ...

was

although it was more commonly denominated as S or IS. As of December 2024 this symbol does not exist in Unicode. The Israeli old shekel replaced the

Israeli pound The pound or lira ( 'Lira Yisra'elit'' 'Junayh ʾIsrāʾīlī'' abbreviation: IL in Latin, ל"י in Hebrew; ISO code: ) was the currency of the State of Israel from 9 June 1952 until 23 February 1980. The Israeli pound replaced the Palestine ...

(IL), which had been used until 24 February 1980, at the rate of IS 1 shekel to IL10.

History

Development of a new currency to be known as the shekel (properly, ''sheqel'') was approved by the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

on 4 June 1969. The governors of the

Bank of Israel The Bank of Israel (, ) is the central bank of Israel. The bank's headquarters is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Jerusalem with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Amir Yaron. The primary objective of the Bank of Israel is to ...

did not consider the time ripe until November 1977, when studies for its implementation began.

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

and

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

Simcha Erlich Simha Erlich (; 15 December 1915 – 19 June 1983) was an Israeli politician. Erlich was leader of the Liberal Party and served in the Knesset from 1969 to 1983. Erlich notably served as Minister of Finance under Prime Minister Menachem Begin, wh ...

approved a proposal to

redenominate In monetary economics, redenomination is the process of changing the face value of banknotes and coins in circulation. It may be done because inflation has made the currency unit so small that only large denominations of the currency are in cir ...

the

in May 1978; the proposal called for the currency to be exactly similar except for the removal of a zero from the inflated pound and agorot denominations.. The shekel and new agora became

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...

on 22 February 1980 and went into circulation two days later. The official exchange rate at time of introduction was US$1 = IS 3.89 = IL38.88. Initial denominations were IS 1, IS 5, IS 10, and IS 50, but over the next five years inflation led to another five: IS 100, IS 500, IS 1,000, IS 5,000, and IS 10,000. New coin and bill designs were selected through competitions among graphic designers.. Beginning with the IS 500 issue, the size of the notes was standardized () and the denominations differentiated by color and design. A transparent part was added to discourage

counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

and elements for the blind were added. Inflationary pressure did not ease. By the end of 1980, the shekel had already lost about half of its value (US$1 = IS 7.55). In 1981, the value of Israeli currency continued to fall, reaching IS 15.60 per U.S. dollar at the end of the year. At the end of 1982, the exchange rate was IS 33.65 = US$1 and was falling still. The following shows the official exchange rate of one U.S. dollar in specific periods of time at the end of the period: *June 1983: IS 47.52 *December 1983: IS 107.77 *March 1984: IS 153.26 *June 1984: IS 236.40 *September 1984: IS 401.34 *December 1984: IS 638.71 *March 1985: IS 858.50 *June 1985: IS 1262.40 By August 1985, the exchange rate for one U.S. dollar reached IS 1500. The

new Israeli shekel The new Israeli shekel (, ; ; currency symbol, sign: Shekel sign, ₪; ISO 4217, ISO code: ILS; unofficial abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel (; ), is the currency of Israel and is also used as a legal tender in the Pa ...

replaced the shekel following its

and the enactment of the economic stabilization plan of 1985 which brought inflation under control. It became the currency of Israel on 4 September 1985, removing three zeros from the old notes.. The old shekel is no longer in circulation, has been demonetized, and is not exchangeable to current legal tender by the Bank of Israel.

Coins

The initial series of coins in 1980 were for the denominations of 1, 5, and 10 new agorot and . These preserved the appearance of the similar coins under the pound but were worth 10 times as much. The initial runs were struck at foreign mints in order to preserve the secrecy of the coming currency conversion. coins were introduced in 1981; and IS 10 coins in 1982; and and IS 100 coins in 1984. The 1 and 5 new agorot coins were

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

; the 10 new agorot and , IS 1, and IS 100 coins

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper–nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper with nickel, usually along with small quantities of other metals added for strength, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. ( Monel is a n ...

; the and IS 50 coins an alloy of copper, aluminum, and nickel; and the cupro-aluminum. * Note that all dates on Israeli coins are given in the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as '' yahrze ...

and are written in

Hebrew numerals The system of Hebrew numerals is a quasi-decimal alphabetic numeral system using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The system was adapted from that of the Greek numerals sometime between 200 and 78 BCE, the latter being the date of the earlie ...

Banknotes

The initial series of banknotes in 1980 were for the denominations of IS 5, IS 10, and IS 50 and preserved the appearance of the IL10, IL50, IL100 and IL500 notes which they replaced. Subsequent issues added the denominations of IS 500, IS 1,000, IS 5,000, and .

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

Bank of Israel catalog of Israeli currency since 1948
{{Portal bar, Asia, Israel, Money, Numismatics Sheqel Modern obsolete currencies 1980 establishments in Israel 1985 disestablishments in Israel 1980s in economic history Cultural depictions of David Ben-Gurion Cultural depictions of Golda Meir Shekel