The new Israeli shekel ( he, שֶׁקֶל חָדָשׁ '; ar, شيكل جديد ;
sign
A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...
:
₪
The shekel sign (₪) is a currency sign used for the Israeli new shekel, which is the currency of Israel.
Israeli new shekel (1986–present)
The Israeli new shekel is denoted in he, שקל חדש (''šéqel ħadáš'', , lit. "New Shekel") ...
;
ISO code: ILS; abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel ( he, שקל ישראלי, ar, شيكل إسرائيلي), is the
currency
A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" 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 def ...
of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and is also used as a
legal tender
Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in pa ...
in the
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...
of the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
. The new shekel is divided into 100
agorot. The new shekel has been in use since 1 January 1986, when it replaced the
hyperinflated old shekel at a ratio of 1000:1.
The
currency sign
A currency symbol or currency sign is a graphic symbol used to denote a currency unit. Usually it is defined by the monetary authority, like the national central bank for the currency concerned.
In formatting, the symbol can use various format ...
for the new shekel is a combination of the first
Hebrew letters
The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish ...
of the words ''shekel'' () and ''ẖadash'' () (new). When the shekel sign is unavailable the abbreviation ''NIS'' ( and ) is used.
History
The origin of the name "
shekel
Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...
" () is from the ancient Biblical currency by the same name. An early Biblical reference is Abraham being reported to pay "four hundred shekels of silver" to
Ephron the Hittite Ephron is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Ephron (biblical figure), Hittite who sold a cave to Abraham according to the Bible
*A family of American writers:
** Henry Ephron (1911–1992), father
** Phoebe Ephron (1914 ...
for the
Cave of the Patriarchs
, alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham)
, image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009
, map ...
in Hebron. Shekel is any of several ancient units of weight or of currency in ancient Israel, from the Hebrew root ש-ק-ל (š-q-l) meaning 'weigh' (שָׁקַל šaqal 'to weigh', שֶׁקֶל šeqel 'a standard weight'), common with other Semitic languages like Akkadian (resp. šaqālu and šiqlu) and Aramaic (resp. תְּקַל teqal and תִּקְלָא tiqla). Initially, it may have referred to a weight of barley. In
ancient Israel
The history of ancient Israel and Judah begins in the Southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation (see Israelites) appears for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an inscripti ...
, the shekel was known to be about 180
grains
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legume ...
(11
gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...
s or 0.35
troy ounce
Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and the ...
s).
There is evidence that the word entered the Germanic languages as ''
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
'' through
Phoenician ''
shekel
Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...
'', Punic ''sql'' (sə'kel) meaning 'weigh' and 'coin'. The two meanings given in the literature in both Germanic and Semitic word are the same for both a fixed weight and a certain coin. The term would come from the Germanic understanding of shekel as shkel with the common Germanic suffix ''-ling''.
From the formation of the modern
State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
on 14 May 1948 through 1952 banknotes continued to be issued by the
Anglo-Palestine Bank
Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...
as the
Palestine pound
The Palestine pound ( ar, جُنَيْه فِلَسْطَينِيّ, ; he, פוּנְט פַּלֶשְׂתִינָאִי (א״י), funt palestina'i (eretz-yisra'eli) or he, לירה (א״י), lira eretz-yisra'elit, link=no; Sign: £P) was the ...
which was pegged at £P1 = £1
sterling.
In 1952, the ''Anglo-Palestine Bank'' changed its name to ''
Bank Leumi Le-Yisrael'' (National Bank of Israel) and the currency name became the
Israeli pound
The pound or lira ( he, לירה ישראלית ''Lira Yisra'elit'', ar, جنيه إسرائيلي ''Junayh ʾIsrāʾīlī''; abbreviation: IL in Latin alphabet, Latin, ל"י in Hebrew script, Hebrew; code ) was the currency of the Israel, State ...
.
Israeli pound (1952–1980)
The Israeli pound (, ''"lira yisraelit"'') was the currency of the State of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
from June 1952 until 23 February 1980, when it was replaced with the
shekel
Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...
on 24 February 1980. From 1955, after the
Bank of Israel
The Bank of Israel ( he, בנק ישראל, ar, بنك إسرائيل) 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.
T ...
was established and took over the duty of issuing
banknote
A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes w ...
s, only the Hebrew name was used, along with the symbol "IL". The pegging to
sterling was abandoned on 1 January 1954, and in 1960, the sub-division of the Israeli pound was changed from 1,000
prutot to 100
agorot.
Because ''lira'' ( he, לִירָה) was a loanword from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, a debate emerged in the 1960s over the name of the Israeli currency due to its non-Hebrew origins. This resulted in a law ordering the Minister of Finance to change the name from ''lira'' to the Hebrew name ''
shekel
Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...
'' ( he, שקל). The law allowed the minister to decide on the date for the change. The law came into effect in February 1980, when the Israeli government introduced the 'Israeli shekel' (now called
old Israeli shekel
The old Israeli shekel, then known as the shekel ( he, שקל, formally ''sheqel'', . , ''Sheqalim''; ar, شيكل, ''šēkal,'' formerly ar, شيقل'', šēqal'' until 2014; code ) was the currency of the State of Israel between 24 February 1 ...
), at a rate of IL10 = IS 1.
Shekel (1980–1985)
The original shekel, now known as the ''old shekel'', was the currency of the State of Israel between 24 February 1980 and 31 December 1985. Both it and its predecessor, the Israeli pound, experienced frequent
devaluation
In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curren ...
s against foreign currencies during the 1960s and 1970s. This trend culminated in the old shekel experiencing
hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...
in the early 1980s. After inflation was contained as a result of the
1985 Economic Stabilization Plan, the new shekel was introduced,
replacing the old shekel on 1 January 1986 at a rate of to
New shekel (1985–present)
Since the economic crisis of the 1980s and the subsequent introduction of the new shekel in 1985, the
Bank of Israel
The Bank of Israel ( he, בנק ישראל, ar, بنك إسرائيل) 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.
T ...
and the
government of Israel
The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the government ...
have maintained much more careful and conservative fiscal and monetary policies, and have gradually introduced various market-based economic reforms. In addition, the signing of free trade agreements helped the Israeli economy become more competitive, while heavy investment in its industrial and scientific base allowed the country to take advantage of opportunities associated with the rise of the global
knowledge economy
The knowledge economy (or the knowledge-based economy) is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific inno ...
, thus greatly increasing exports and opening new markets for its products and services. As a result of these factors, inflation has been relatively low and the country now maintains a positive
balance of payments
In international economics, the balance of payments (also known as balance of international payments and abbreviated BOP or BoP) of a country is the difference between all money flowing into the country in a particular period of time (e.g., a ...
, with a
current account Current account or Current Account may refer to:
* Current account (balance of payments), a country's balance of trade, net of factor income and cash transfers
* Current account (banking)
A transaction account, also called a checking account, ch ...
surplus equivalent to about 3% of its GDP in 2010. Consequently, its currency has strengthened though less so than an exceptional rise in the Euro and Swiss Franc, rising approximately 20% in value relative to the US dollar from 2001 to 2011, contrasting to weakening in prior decades.
Since 1 January 2003, the new shekel has been a freely
convertible currency
Convertibility is the quality that allows money or other financial instruments to be converted into other liquid stores of value. Convertibility is an important factor in international trade, where instruments valued in different currencies mus ...
. Since 7 May 2006, new shekel
derivative
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...
trading has also been available on the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is a global derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, an a ...
. This makes the new shekel one of only twenty or so world currencies for which there are widely available currency
futures contract
In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...
s in the
foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all aspec ...
. It is also a currency that can be exchanged by consumers in many parts of the world. On 26 May 2008,
CLS Bank International announced that it would settle payment instructions in new shekels, making the currency
fully convertible.
Coins
In 1985, coins in denominations of 1 agora, 5 agorot, 10 agorot, ₪, and ₪1 were introduced. In 1990, ₪5 coins were introduced, followed by ₪10 coins in 1995. Production of 1 agora pieces ceased in 1990, and they were
removed from circulation on 1 April 1991. A ₪2 coin was introduced on 9 December 2007.
The 5 agorot coin, last minted in 2007, was removed from circulation on 1 January 2008.
In April 2011, it was reported that new coins would be minted that would use less metal and thus lower costs. Counterfeiting would also be harder. The Bank of Israel is considering dropping the word "new" on the planned coins series. If approved, this would be the first replacement of all coins since the introduction of the new shekel coins in September 1985. The coins are minted by the
Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation
The Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corporation (KOMSCO; Korean: 한국조폐공사) is a state-owned corporation which is responsible to print and mint the banknotes and coins and other government documents. Its headquar ...
(KOMSCO).
* Note that all dates on Israeli coins are given in the
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. I ...
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 in the late 2nd century BCE.
The current numeral system is also known as t ...
.
Banknotes
Series A (1985–1999)
Beginning on 4 September 1985. banknotes are introduced in denominations of ₪10, and ₪50. An note followed on 8 May 1986 and the note issued on 19 August 1986. On 2 April 1988, the note issued and the note issued on 16 February 1992 completing the family. The ₪5 and ₪10 notes used the same basic designs as the earlier 5000, and notes but with the denominations altered.
The ₪5 and ₪10 notes were later replaced by coins. A number of these coins, in their first minting, had the images of the individuals on the notes engraved on them.
Series B (1999–2017)
The Second series of bank notes was released in 1999, replacing the first series by 2005. A plan to issue a banknote, carrying the portrait of
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
, was announced shortly after Rabin's assassination in 1995. However, due to low inflation rates, there was no need for such a banknote and it was never issued.
Series C (2014–present)
The committee proposed that the new series would bear the portraits of prominent Hebrew poets, among them
Rachel Bluwstein
Rachel Bluwstein Sela (20 September (Julian calendar) 1890 – 16 April 1931) was a Hebrew-language poet who immigrated to Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1909.
She is known by her first name, Rachel ( he, רחל ), or as Ra ...
,
Shaul Tchernichovsky
Shaul Tchernichovsky ( he, שאול טשרניחובסקי) or Saul Gutmanovich Tchernichovsky (russian: link=no, Саул Гутманович Черниховский; 20 August 1875 – 14 October 1943) was a Russian-born Hebrew poet. He is c ...
,
Leah Goldberg
Leah Goldberg or Lea Goldberg ( he, לאה גולדברג; May 29, 1911, Königsberg – January 15, 1970, Jerusalem) was a prolific Hebrew-language poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher.
Her writ ...
and
Nathan Alterman
Nathan Alterman ( he, נתן אלתרמן, August 14, 1910 – March 28, 1970) was an Israeli poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Though never holding any elected office, Alterman was highly influential in Socialist Zionist politics, ...
. In December 2010, it was announced that the series would feature portraits of
Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
,
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
, Rachel, and
Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon ( he, שמואל יוסף עגנון; July 17, 1888 – February 17, 1970) was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew literature. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon (). In English, his works are published und ...
. When Begin's family opposed the decision, the committee's original proposal was readopted.
On 14 November 2012, the Bank of Israel announced that the new series of banknotes is in the final stages of design. The first of the new banknotes to begin circulation was in the
₪50 denomination on 16 September 2014, followed by the
₪200 note on 23 December 2015. The final two denominations,
₪20 and
₪100, were issued on 23 November 2017, completing the "Series C" banknote series.
With the issuing of the third series, the
Bank of Israel
The Bank of Israel ( he, בנק ישראל, ar, بنك إسرائيل) 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.
T ...
has adopted the standard English spelling of ''shekel'' and plural ''shekels'' for its currency.
Previously, the Bank had formally used the
Hebrew transcriptions of ''sheqel'' and ''sheqalim'' (from ).
[.] The new notes also used the Arabic ''(šaykal)'' rather than ''(šayqal)'', which had been used on all banknotes previously.
The banknotes are printed by
Orell Füssli Security Printing of Switzerland.
Exchange rates
See also
*
Bank of Israel
The Bank of Israel ( he, בנק ישראל, ar, بنك إسرائيل) 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.
T ...
*
Economy of Israel
The economy of Israel is a developed free-market economy. The prosperity of Israel's advanced economy allows the country to have a sophisticated welfare state, a powerful modern military said to possess a nuclear-weapons capability, modern inf ...
References
External links
Bank of Israel catalogue of Israeli currency since 1948Exchange rates since 1948American Israel Numismatic AssociationCurrent Sheqel Dollar Rate''Shaar yatzig'' – Official Rate gadget
{{Portal bar, Asia, Israel, Money, Numismatics
Shekel
Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...
Circulating currencies
1985 establishments in Israel
Currencies introduced in 1986
Cultural depictions of Golda Meir