| Israeli new shekel | |||
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| שקל חדש (Hebrew) شيقل جديد (Arabic) |
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| ISO 4217 code | ILS | ||
| User(s) | Israel Palestinian territories[1] |
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| Inflation | 2.6% (2010 est.) 3.3% (2009 est.) | ||
| Source | The World Factbook, 2007 | ||
| Subunit | |||
| 1/100 | agora | ||
| Symbol | ₪ | ||
| Plural | shekalim (pronounced shkalim) | ||
| agora | agorot | ||
| Coins | 10 agorot, ½, 1, 2, 5, 10 new shekalim | ||
| Banknotes | 20, 50, 100, 200 new shekalim | ||
| Central bank | Bank of Israel | ||
| Website | bankisrael.gov.il | ||
The Israeli New Shekel (Hebrew: שקל חדש Shekel Ḥadash) (sign: ₪; acronym: ש״ח and in English NIS; code: ILS) (also spelled sheqel; pl. shekalim pronounced shkalim – שקלים; Arabic: شيكل جديد or شيقل جديد šēkel ǧadīd) is the currency of the State of Israel. The shekel is divided into 100 agorot (אגורות) (sing. agora, אגורה). Denominations made in this currency are marked with the shekel sign, ₪.
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In the past, Israel had a perennially weak currency due to recurring economic difficulties, a negative balance of payments, and generally loose monetary policy by the Bank of Israel, with the Israeli lira, followed by the old sheqel experiencing frequent devaluations against the US dollar and other foreign currencies starting in the early 1960s and accelerating from the mid-1970s onwards. This trend culminated in the old sheqel suffering from runaway inflation in the economic crisis which occurred in Israel in the early 1980s. After inflation was finally contained by the middle of the decade as a result of the 1985 Economic Stabilization Plan, the new sheqel was introduced, replacing the old sheqel on January 1, 1986, at a rate of 1,000 old sheqalim = 1 new sheqel. Since the crisis of the 1980s and introduction of the New Sheqel, the Bank of Israel and the government of Israel have maintained much more careful and conservative fiscal and monetary policies alongside with the gradual introduction of various market-based economic reforms. In addition, in the decades following the 1980s, 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, 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 (equivalent to about 3% of its GDP in 2010). Consequently, its currency has strengthened considerably, rising approximately 20% in value relative to the US dollar in the first decade of the 21st century, thereby reversing the trend of historical weakness the Israeli currency exhibited in the decades prior.
Since January 1, 2003, the sheqel has been a freely convertible currency. Since May 7, 2006, sheqel derivative trading has also been available on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.[2] This makes the sheqel one of only twenty or so world currencies for which there are widely-available currency futures contracts in the foreign exchange market. It is also a currency that can be exchanged by consumers in many parts of the world.[3][4]
On May 26, 2008, CLS Bank International (CLS Bank) has announced that it will settle payment instructions in Israeli New sheqel, thus making this currency fully convertible.[5]
The currency is not produced in Israel, as the country has no mint. Currently, the coins are minted at Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO), the banknote and coin producer of South Korea, while the banknotes are produced in Switzerland.
For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see British currency in the Middle East.
In 1985, coins in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 agorot, ½ and 1 new sheqel were introduced.[6] In 1990, 5 new sheqalim coins were introduced,[7] followed by 10 new sheqalim in 1995.[8] Production of 1 agora pieces ceased in 1990 too, and they were removed from circulation on April 1, 1991. A 2 new sheqalim coin was introduced on December 9, 2007.[9] The 5 agorot coin, last minted in 2006, was removed from circulation on January 1, 2008.[10]
Circulation coins of the sheqel are:
| sheqel coin series | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Technical parameters | Description | Date of | ||||||
| Diameter | Thickness | Mass | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | issue | withdrawal | |
| 1 agora | 17 mm | 1.2 mm | 2 g | Aluminium bronze 92% copper 6% aluminium 2% nickel |
Smooth | Ancient galley, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English | Value, date | September 4, 1985 | 1 April 1991 |
| 5 agorot | 19.5 mm | 1.3 mm | 3 g | Smooth | Replica of a coin from the fourth year of the war of the Jews against Rome depicting a lulav between two etrogim, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English | January 1, 2008 | |||
| 10 agorot | 22 mm | 1.5 mm | 4 g | Smooth | Replica of a coin issued by Antigonus II Mattathias with the seven-branched candelabrum, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English | Current | |||
| ½ new sheqel | 26 mm | 1.6 mm | 6.5 g | Smooth | Lyre, the state emblem | Value, date, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English | Current | ||
| 1 new sheqel | 18 mm | 1.8 mm | 4 g | Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel[11] |
Smooth | Lily, "Yehud" in ancient Hebrew, the state emblem | Value, date, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English | September 4, 1985 | Current |
| 2 new sheqalim | 21.6 mm | 2.3 mm | 5.7 g | Nickel bonded steel | Smooth with 4 regions of grooves | Two cornucopia, the state emblem | December 9, 2007 | Current | |
| 5 new sheqalim | 24 mm | 2.4 mm | 8.2 g | Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel |
12 sides | Capital of column, the state emblem | January 2, 1990 | Current | |
| 10 new sheqalim | 23 mm Core: 16 mm |
2.2 mm | 7 g | Ring: Nickel bonded steel Center: Aureate bonded bronze |
Reeded | Palm tree with seven leaves and two baskets with dates, the state emblem, the words "for the redemption of Zion" in ancient and modern Hebrew alphabet | Value, date, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English | February 7, 1995 | Current |
| For table standards, see the coin specification table. | |||||||||
In September 1985, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 new shkalim. The 1, 5 and 10 new shekel notes used the same basic designs as the earlier 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 old shekel notes but with the denominations altered.
In 1986, 100 new shekel notes were introduced, followed by 200 new shekel notes in 1991. The 1, 5 and 10 new shekel notes were later replaced by coins. A plan to issue a 500 shekel banknote, carrying the portrait of Yitzhak 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.[12] However, in February 2008 the Bank of Israel announced that the planning of an entirely new series of banknotes has started, and that the new series, to be issued in 2010, will most probably include a 500 shekel banknote as well. Though still not decided officially, the new series is likely to consist of polymer notes only. In December 2009 the Bank of Israel announced a new series to be issued in 2012, which would bear the images of Theodore Herzl, David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin. The plan to issue a 500 shekel note was officially abandoned.[13] The announcement was publicly received with criticism, and a few days later, the governor of the Bank of Israel announced that the issue be returned for further discussions. [14] The committee suggested that the new series would include prominent Hebrew poets and poetesses, and named Rachel Bluwstein, Shaul Tchernichovsky, Leah Goldberg and Nathan Alterman as the figures that should appear on the notes. The governor decided to adopt only part of the suggestion, and in December 2010 announced that the series would include Begin, Rabin, Bluwstein and Shmuel Yosef Agnon.[15] Owing to further criticism and Begin's family reluctance to approve the decision, the governor decided to return to the committee's original proposal, and the Israeli government approved it.[16]
Reports in April 2011 suggest that the Bank of Israel also plans to issue a new series of coins, and adopt designs that would lower expenses by using less metal. In addition, the new series is supposed to make counterfeit harder.[17] The Bank of Israel is also considering to drop the adjective "new" from the currency's name 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.[18]
Notes currently in circulation are:
| Second Series of the New shekel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Dimensions | Colour | Obverse | Reverse |
| 20 shekel | 71x 138 mm | Green | Moshe Sharett | Jewish volunteers in World War II; a watchtower, commemorating tower and stockade settlements |
| 50 shekel | Purple | Shmuel Yosef Agnon | Agnon's notebook, pen and glasses, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount | |
| 100 shekel | Brown | Yitzhak Ben-Zvi | Peki'in Synagogue | |
| 200 shekel | Red | Zalman Shazar | a street in Safed and text from Shazar's essay about Safed | |
The 20 shekel banknote is the first, as of April 2008, to be made of polypropylene, a polymer substrate, which is superior to the current paper note with a circulation life of a few months only. The polymer note is printed by Orell Fuessli Security Printing of Zürich, Switzerland. 1.8 million of the new banknotes were printed with the writing "60 years [anniversary] of the State of Israel" (in Hebrew), in red ink.
In Hebrew the new shekel is usually abbreviated ש"ח (pronounced shaḥ). The symbol for the new shekel, ₪, is a combination of the first Hebrew letters of the words shekel (ש) and ḥadash (ח). According to the standard Hebrew keyboard (SI 1452) it must be typed as AltGr-A (the letter ש appears on the same key in regular Hebrew mode). However, in Windows XP it can be typed on the default Hebrew keyboard by pressing AltGr-4 (while Shift-4 produces the dollar sign), however the sign does not appear on the physical keys of most keyboards that are used in Israel and is rare in day-to-day typing. In Arabic, the currency is usually denoted by the abbreviation ش.ج which is the initials of šikel jadīd, the currency's name in Arabic.
| Current ILS exchange rates | |
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