Old Israeli shekel

Development of a new currency to be known as the shekel (properly, sheqel) was approved by the Israeli Knesset on 4 June 1969. The governors of the Bank of Israel did not consider the time ripe until November 1977, when studies for its implementation began. Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Minister of Finance Simcha Erlich approved a proposal to redenominate the Israeli pound 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.[1]

The shekel and new agora became legal tender 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.[2] 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.[1] New coin and bill designs were selected through competitions among graphic designers.[3] Beginning with the IS 500 issue, the size of the notes was standardized (76 mm × 138 mm or 3 in × 5 in) and the denominations differentiated by color and design. A transparent part was added to discourage counterfeiting and elements for the blind were added.[1]

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 replaced the shekel following its hyperinflation 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.[4]

The old shekel is no longer in circulation, has been demonetized, and is not exchangeable to current legal tender by the Bank of Israel.

The initial series of coins in 1980 were for the denominations of 1, 5, and 10 new agorot and IS 1⁄2. 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. IS 1 coins were introduced in 1981; IS 5 and IS 10 coins in 1982; and IS 50 and IS 100 coins in 1984.[3]

The 1 and 5 new agorot coins were aluminum; the 10 new agorot and IS 1⁄2, IS 1, and IS 100 coins cupronickel; the IS 5 and IS 50 coins an alloy of copper, aluminum, and nickel; and the IS 10 cupro-aluminum.[3]

Old shekel coins

Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description		Date of
		Diameter (mm)	Mass (g)	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	issue	withdrawal
	1 new agora	15	0.6	aluminium 97%, magnesium 3%	Palm tree, "Israel" in Hebrew and Arabic	Value, date	February 24, 1980	April 9, 1986
	5 new agorot	18.5	0.9		The state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English
	10 new agorot	16	2.1	copper 92%, nickel 8%	Three pomegranates, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English
	IS1⁄2	20	3	copper 75%, nickel 25%	Lion, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English	Value, date, two stars
	IS 1	23	5		Cup, "Shekel" in Hebrew	Value, date, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English	January 22, 1981
	IS 5	24	6	copper 92%, aluminium 6%, nickel 2%	Two cornucopia, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English	Value, date, two stars	October 9, 1981
	IS 10	26	8	copper 75%, aluminium 25%	Ancient galley, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English		February 25, 1982
	IS 50	28	9	copper 92%, aluminium 6%, nickel 2%	Replica of a coin, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English		August 3, 1984
	IS 100	29	10.8	copper 75%, nickel 25%	Replica of a coin issued by Antigonus II Mattathias with the seven-branched candelabrum, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English	Value, date	February 5, 1984
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. 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.

The initial series of banknotes in 1980 were for the denominations of IS 1, IS 5, IS 10, and IS 50 and preserved the appearance of the IL10, IL50, IL100 and IL500 notes which they replaced.[1]

Subsequent issues added the denominations of IS 100, IS 500, IS 1,000, IS 5,000, and IS 10,000.[1]

Value	Size	Color	Obverse	Reverse	Image	Issued	Withdrawn
IS 1	135×76 mm	purple	Moses Montefiore with Mishkenot Sha'ananim in background	Jaffa Gate		24 February 1980	September 4, 1986
IS 5	141×76 mm	green	Chaim Weizmann, Weizmann Institute of Science in background	Damascus Gate
IS 10	147×76 mm	blue	Theodor Herzl, entrance to Mount Herzl in background	Zion Gate
IS 50	153×76 mm	Ivory-Brown	David Ben-Gurion at the library in Sde Boker	Golden Gate
IS 100	159×76 mm	Orange-brown	Ze'ev Jabotinsky	Herod's Gate		December 11, 1980
IS 500	138×76 mm	red	Edmond James de Rothschild, and farmers	Bunch of grapes		December 1, 1982
IS 1,000		green	Maimonides	Tiberias where Maimonides is buried; Ancient stone lamp		November 17, 1983
IS 5,000		blue	Levi Eshkol	Pipe carrying water, symbolizing the national carrier, fields and barren land in background		August 9, 1984
IS 10,000		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		November 27, 1984
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

• Bank of Israel
• Economy of Israel

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old Israeli shekel.

• Bank of Israel catalog of Israeli currency since 1948 Archived 2009-02-17 at the Wayback Machine