Israeli new shekel

Israeli new shekel
שקל חדש‎ (Hebrew) شيقل جديد (Arabic)
New shekel banknotes and coins (Series B)
ISO 4217
Code	ILS
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	agora
Plural	shekels sheqalim
agora	agoras agorot
Symbol	₪
Banknotes	₪20, ₪50, ₪100, ₪200
Coins	10 agora, ₪½, ₪1, ₪2, ₪5, ₪10
Demographics
User(s)	Israel  Palestinian Authority[1]
Issuance
Central bank	Bank of Israel
Website	boi.org.il
Valuation
Inflation	−0.2% (2016)
Source	Bank of Israel, August 2016[2]

The Israeli new shekel (Hebrew: שֶׁקֶל חָדָשׁ‎  Sheqel H̱adash; Arabic: شيقل جديد‎‎ shēqel jadīd; sign: ₪; code: ILS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel and formerly known as the New Israeli Sheqel (NIS), is the currency of Israel and is also used as a legal tender in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The new shekel is divided into 100 agora. 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 for the new shekel ⟨ ₪ ⟩ is a combination of the first Hebrew letters of the words shekel (ש) and ẖadash (ח) (new). Alongside the shekel sign, the following abbreviations of NIS, ש"ח and ش.ج are also used commonly to denominate prices.

History

The origin of the name "shekel" (שקל) is from the ancient biblical currency by the same name. Shekel is any of several ancient units of weight or of currency in ancient Israel. Initially, it may have referred to a weight of barley. In ancient Israel, the shekel was known to be about 180 grains (11 grams or .35 troy ounces).

From the formation of the modern State of Israel on 14 May 1948 through 1952 banknotes continued to be issued by the Anglo-Palestine Bank as Palestine pound which was pegged to the British Pound.^[3][4] In 1952, the Anglo-Palestine Bank changed its name to Bank Leumi Le-Yisrael (Israel National Bank) and the currency name became Israeli pound.^[5]

Israeli pound (1952–1980)

The Israeli pound (לירה ישראלית) was the currency of the State of Israel from June 1952 until 23 February 1980, when it was replaced with the shekel on 24 February 1980. From 1955, after the Bank of Israel was established and took over the duty of issuing banknotes, only the Hebrew name was used, along with the symbol "I£".^[6] The pegging to the British Pound was abolished on 1 January 1954, and in 1960, the sub-division of the Israeli pound was changed from 1000 prutot to 100 agorot.

During the 1960s, a debate over the non-Hebrew name of the Israeli currency resulted in a law ordering the Minister of Finance to change the name pound into a Hebrew name, Shekel (שקל). The law allowed the minister to decide on a proper date for the change. The law did not come into effect until February 1980, when the Israeli government decided to change the monetary system and introduce the shekel at a rate of 1 shekel = I£10.

Shekel (1980–1985)

The shekel, now known as the old shekel, was the currency of the State of Israel between 24 February 1980 and 31 December 1985. The Israeli pound and its successor, the old shekel, all experienced frequent devaluations against foreign currencies during the 1960s and '70s. This trend culminated in the old shekel experiencing hyperinflation 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 IS 1,000 to ₪1.

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 and the government 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 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, with a current account surplus 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 2000s decade, thereby reversing the trend of historical weakness the Israeli currency exhibited in the decades prior.

Since 1 January 2003, the new shekel has been a freely convertible currency. Since 7 May 2006, new shekel derivative trading has also been available on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.^[7] This makes the new shekel 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.^[8][9] On 26 May 2008, CLS Bank International announced that it would settle payment instructions in new shekels, making the currency fully convertible.^[10] Since 20 March 2003, the new shekel has gained more than 30% in value against the US dollar.^[11]

Coins

In 1985, coins in denominations of 1 agora, 5 and 10 agorot and ₪½ and ₪1 were introduced.^[12] In 1990, ₪5 coins were introduced,^[13] followed by ₪10 coins in 1995.^[14] 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.^[15] The 5 agora coin, last minted in 2006, was removed from circulation on 1 January 2008.^[16]

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.^[17] 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.^[18] The coins are minted by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO).^[19]

New Shekel coin series

Image	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	4 September 1985	1 April 1991
	5 agorot	19.5 mm	1.3 mm	3 g			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			1 January 2008
	10 agorot	22 mm	1.5 mm	4 g			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	26 mm	1.6 mm	6.5 g			Lyre, the state emblem	Value, date, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English
	₪1	18 mm	1.8 mm	3.5 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel[20]		Lily, "Yehud" in ancient Hebrew, the state emblem
	₪2	21.6 mm	2.3 mm	5.7 g	Nickel bonded steel	Smooth with 4 regions of grooves	Two cornucopia, the state emblem		9 December 2007
	₪5	24 mm	2.4 mm	8.2 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel	12 sides	Capital of column, the state emblem		2 January 1990
	₪10	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		7 February 1995
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

• Note that all dates on Israeli coins are given in the Hebrew calendar and are written in Hebrew numerals.

Banknotes

Series A (1985–1999)

Beginning on 4 September 1985, banknotes were introduced in denominations of ₪5, ₪10, and ₪50. An ₪1 note followed on 8 May 1986 and the ₪20 note issued on 2 April 1988 completed the family.^[21] The ₪1, ₪5 and ₪10 notes used the same basic designs as the earlier IS 1000, 5000, and 10 000 notes but with the denominations altered.

In 1986, ₪100 notes were introduced, followed by ₪200 notes in 1991. The ₪1, ₪5 and ₪10 notes were later replaced by coins. A plan to issue an ₪500 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.^[22]

Image	Value	Dimensions	Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue	Date of withdrawal
	₪1	76x 138 mm	green	Maimonides	Tiberias where Maimonides is buried; Ancient stone lamp	8 May 1986	1995
	₪5		blue	Levi Eshkol	Pipe carrying water, symbolizing the national carrier, fields and barren land in background	4 September 1985	1995
	₪10		orange	Golda Meir	Picture of Golda Meir in the crowd, in front of the Moscow Choral Synagogue, as she arrived in Moscow as Israel's ambassador in 1948	4 September 1985	1995
	₪20		dark gray	Moshe Sharett	The original building of Herzliya Gymnasium, Little Tel Aviv in background	2 April 1988	1 July 2000
	₪50		purple	Shmuel Yosef Agnon	Jerusalem skyline, Eastern European shtetl, the setting of many of Agnon's stories.	4 September 1985	1 July 2000
	₪100		brown	Yitzhak Ben-Zvi	Peki'in Synagogue with carob tree and cave, Ancient stone lamp	19 August 1986	1 July 2000
	₪200		red	Zalman Shazar	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

Series B (1999–present)

The Second series of bank notes were released in 1999, replacing the first series by 2005. In February 2008, the Bank of Israel announced that the planning of the third series of banknotes has started and that the third series, to be issued in 2010, will most probably include a NIS 500 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 Theodor Herzl, David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Rabin. The plan to issue an ₪500 note was officially abandoned.^[23] The announcement was publicly criticized and, a few days later, the governor of the Bank of Israel announced that the issue be reconsidered.^[24]

With the issuing of the third series of its currency in 2014, the Bank of Israel has adopted the standard English spelling of shekel and plural shekels for its currency.^[25] Previously, the Bank had formally used the Hebrew transcriptions of sheqel and sheqalim (from שְׁקָלִים).^[26]

Second series of the new shekel

Image	Value	Dimensions	Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue
	₪20	71x 138 mm	Green	Moshe Sharett	Jewish volunteers in World War II; a watchtower, commemorating tower and stockade settlements	3 January 1999
	₪20		Green	Moshe Sharett	Jewish volunteers in World War II; a watchtower, commemorating tower 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 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 Füssli Security Printing of Zürich, Switzerland.)	13 April 2008
	₪50		Purple	Shmuel Yosef Agnon	Agnon's notebook, pen and glasses, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount	31 October 1999
	₪100		Brown	Yitzhak Ben-Zvi	Peki'in Synagogue	3 January 1999
	₪200		Red	Zalman Shazar	a street in Safed and text from Shazar's essay about Safed	31 October 1999

Series C (2014–present)

The committee proposed that the new series would bear the portraits of prominent Hebrew poets, among them Rachel, Shaul Tchernichovsky, Leah Goldberg and Nathan Alterman. In December 2010, it was announced that the series would feature portraits of Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, and Rachel and Shmuel Yosef Agnon.^[27] When Begin's family opposed the decision, the committee's original proposal was readopted.^[28]

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,^[29] followed by the ₪200 note on 23 December 2015.^[30] The other two denominations, ₪20 and ₪100, had been expected to be issued in the end of 2017.^{[31][32][33][34]}

Third Series of the New Shekel
Image	Value	Dimensions	Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue
	₪20	129 x 71 mm	Red	Rachel Bluwstein; the poem Kinneret in microprinting; Palm tree branches in the background	Vista of the Sea of Galilee shoreline; Segment from the poem Perhaps it was nothing…	End of 2017
	₪50	136 x 71 mm	Green	Shaul Tchernichovsky; the poem Oh, My Land, My Homeland in microprinting; Citrus tree and its fruits in the background	Capital of a Corinthian column; Segment from the poem I Believe	16 September 2014
	₪100	143 x 71 mm	Orange	Leah Goldberg; the poem In the land of my love the almond tree blossoms in microprinting; Almond tree blossoms in the background	A group of gazelles; Segment from the poem: White days	End of 2017
	₪200	150 x 71 mm	Blue	Nathan Alterman; the poem Eternal Meeting in microprinting; Fall leaves in the background	Moonlit flora; Segment from the poem Morning Song	23 December 2015

Exchange rates

See also

• Bank of Israel
• Economy of Israel

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Israeli new sheqel.

• Bank of Israel catalogue of Israeli currency since 1948
• Exchange rates since 1948
• American Israel Numismatic Association
• Current Sheqel Dollar Rate
• Shaar yatzig – Official Rate gadget
• The banknotes of Israel (in English) (in German)