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 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 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 ...

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

Israeli new shekel The new Israeli shekel ( he, שֶׁקֶל חָדָשׁ '; ar, شيكل جديد ; sign: ₪; ISO code: ILS; abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel ( he, שקל ישראלי, ar, شيكل إسرائيلي), is the curre ...

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 value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...

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

shekel sign 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 Sheke ...

was

although it was more commonly denominated as S or IS. The Israeli old shekel replaced 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 ...

(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 ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

on 4 June 1969. The governors of 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 ...

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

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

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 ...

and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Simcha Erlich approved a proposal to redenominate 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 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 ...

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 To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

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 ( he, שֶׁקֶל חָדָשׁ '; ar, شيكل جديد ; sign: ₪; ISO code: ILS; abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel ( he, שקל ישראלי, ar, شيكل إسرائيلي), is the curr ...

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 (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

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

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...

; 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 ( 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

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 economic history Cultural depictions of David Ben-Gurion Cultural depictions of Golda Meir