"Israeli shekel" redirects here. For the currency of Israel between 1980 and 1985, seeOld Israeli shekel. For the currency of Israel between 1952 and 1980, seeIsraeli pound. For ancient currencies and units of weight, seeShekel.
Thecurrency sign for the new shekel⟨ ₪ ⟩ is a combination of the firstHebrew letters of the wordsshekel (ש) andẖadash (ח) (new). When the shekel sign is unavailable the abbreviationNIS (ש״ח andش.ج) is used.
The origin of the name "shekel" (שֶׁקֶל) 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" toEphron the Hittite for theCave of the Patriarchs in Hebron (Genesis 23:15–16). 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)[4] and Aramaic (resp. תְּקַל teqal and תִּקְלָא tiqla).[5] Initially, it may have referred to a weight of barley. Inancient Israel, the shekel was known to be about 180 grains (11 grams or 0.35 troy ounces).
The Israeli pound (לירה ישראלית,"lira yisraelit") was the currency of the State ofIsrael from June 1952 until it was replaced with theshekel on 24 February 1980. From 1955, after theBank of Israel was established and took over the duty of issuingbanknotes, only the Hebrew name was used, along with the symbol "IL".[8] The pegging tosterling was abandoned on 1 January 1954, and in 1960, the sub-division of the Israeli pound was changed from 1,000prutot to 100agorot.
Becauselira (Hebrew:לִירָה) was a loanword fromLatin, 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 fromlira to the Hebrew nameshekel (Hebrew: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 calledold Israeli shekel), at a rate of IL10 = IS 1.
The original shekel, now known as theold 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 frequentdevaluations against foreign currencies during the 1960s and 1970s. This trend culminated in the old shekel experiencinghyperinflation in the early 1980s. After inflation was contained as a result of the1985 Economic Stabilization Plan, the new shekel was introduced,replacing the old shekel on 1 January 1986 at a rate ofIS 1,000 to₪1.
New shekel (1985–present)
Removing three zeros: The smallest of the new banknotes (below) correspond to the biggest of the old (above).
Since the economic crisis of the 1980s and the subsequent introduction of the new shekel in 1985, theBank of Israel and thegovernment of Israel 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 globalknowledge economy, 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 positivebalance of payments, with acurrent account 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 freelyconvertible currency. Since 7 May 2006, new shekelderivative trading has also been available on theChicago Mercantile Exchange.[9] This makes the new shekel one of only twenty or so world currencies for which there are widely available currencyfutures contracts in theforeign exchange market. It is also a currency that can be exchanged by consumers in many parts of the world.[10][11] On 26 May 2008,CLS Bank International announced that it would settle payment instructions in new shekels, making the currencyfully convertible.[12]
Coins
In 1985, coins in denominations of 1 agora, 5 agorot, 10 agorot, ₪1⁄2, and ₪1 were introduced.[13] In 1990, ₪5 coins were introduced,[14] followed by ₪10 coins in 1995.[15] Production of 1 agora pieces ceased in 1990, and they wereremoved from circulation on 1 April 1991.[citation needed] A ₪2 coin was introduced on 9 December 2007.[16] The 5 agorot coin, last minted in 2007, was removed from circulation on 1 January 2008.[17]
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.[18] 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.[19] The coins are minted by theKorea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO).[3]
In 2022, the Bank of Israel announced a new series of coins featuring updated inscriptions for its coins, with "new shekels" replacing "new sheqalim". The 5 and 10 new shekel coins will be the first to feature the new inscriptions, and the 10 agorot and1⁄2 new shekel coins will feature its unit names rendered in Arabic.[20]
Beginning on 4 September 1985. banknotes are introduced in denominations of₪5, ₪10, and ₪50. An₪1 note followed on 8 May 1986 and the₪100 note issued on 19 August 1986. On 2 April 1988, the₪20 note issued and the₪200 note issued on 16 February 1992 completing the family.[22] The₪1, ₪5 and ₪10 notes used the same basic designs as the earlierIS 1000, 5000, and10 000 notes but with the denominations altered.
The₪1, ₪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.
A girl writing at a desk as a symbol of the Compulsory Education Law which was initiated by Shazar, and Hebrew block letters in background
16 February 1992
1 July 2000
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see thebanknote specification table.
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₪500 banknote, carrying the portrait ofYitzhak Rabin, 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.[23]
Jewish volunteers inWorld War II; a watchtower, commemoratingtower and stockade settlements. The additional red text on the polypropylene note reads "60 Years of the State of Israel" in Hebrew in red ink. It was only featured in a 1.8 million limited run close to the noted anniversary and is not present on a majority of notes. (Made ofpolypropylene, apolymer substrate, which is superior to the regular Series B paper note with a circulation life of a few months only. The polymer note is printed byOrell Füssli Security Printing ofZürich,Switzerland.)
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,[27] followed by the₪200 note on 23 December 2015.[28] The final two denominations,₪20 and₪100, were issued on 23 November 2017, completing the "Series C" banknote series.[29][30][31]
With the issuing of the third series, theBank of Israel has adopted the standard English spelling ofshekel and pluralshekels for its currency.[32] Previously, the Bank had formally used theHebrew transcriptions ofsheqel andsheqalim (fromשְׁקָלִים).[33] The new notes also used the Arabicشيكل(šaykal) rather thanشيقل(šayqal), which had been used on all banknotes previously.
1SUR ceased to exist after 1993, and was replaced byRUB. 2DEM ceased to exist after 1999, and was replaced byEUR. 3FRF ceased to exist after 1999, and was replaced byEUR.
^שטר בסימן שאלה, Bulletin of the Numismatics Association in Israel, October 2005, archived fromthe original on 13 January 2021, retrieved3 October 2018
^השטר החדש הושק: "יהי קשה לזייף שטרות" [The new banknote was launched: "It will be difficult to counterfeit banknotes"].ynet (in Hebrew). 10 September 2014. Retrieved10 September 2014.
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