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Israeli new shekel

Currency of Israel

Field	Value
name	New Israeli shekel
local_name1	שקל חדש
local_name_lang1	he
local_name2	شيكل جديد
local_name_lang2	ar
name_abbr	NIS
image_1	File:השטרות החדשים של ישראל.jpg
image_title_1	New shekel banknotes (Current Series C)
iso_code	ILS
unit	shekel
plural	{{plainlist
subunit_name_1	agora
symbol	₪
used_banknotes	₪20, ₪50, ₪100, ₪200
used_coins	10 agorot, ₪, ₪1, ₪2, ₪5, ₪10
subunit_ratio_1
plural_subunit_1	{{plain list
date_of_introduction	1 January 1986
using_countries	Israel
unofficial_users	Palestinian Authority
issuing_authority	Bank of Israel
issuing_authority_website
printer	Orell Füssli
mint	KOMSCO
inflation_rate	−0.59% (2020)
0.35% (2021 est.)
inflation_source_date	Bank of Israel, Statista, April 2021
replaced_currency	Old Israeli shekel

shekels
sheqalim}}
agoras
agorot}} 0.35% (2021 est.)

The new Israeli shekel (, ; ; sign: ₪; ISO code: ILS; unofficial abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel (; ), is the currency of Israel and is also used as a de facto legal tender in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The new shekel is divided into 100 agorot. 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 () and ẖadash () (new). When the shekel sign is unavailable the abbreviation NIS (ש״ח and ش.ج) is used.

History

Main article: Shekel

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" to Ephron the Hittite for the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron (). 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) and Aramaic (resp. תְּקַל teqal and תִּקְלָא tiqla). 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 0.35 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 the Palestine pound which was pegged at £P1 = £1 sterling. In 1952, the Anglo-Palestine Bank changed its name to Bank Leumi Le-Yisrael (, 'National Bank of Israel') and the currency name became the Israeli pound.

Israeli pound (1952–1980)

Main article: Israeli pound

The Israeli pound (לירה ישראלית, lira yisraelit) was the currency of the State of Israel from June 1952 until 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 "IL". The pegging to sterling was abandoned on 1 January 1954, and in 1960, the sub-division of the Israeli pound was changed from 1,000 prutot to 100 agorot.

Because lira () was a loanword from Latin, 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 from lira to the Hebrew name shekel (). 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 called old Israeli shekel), at a rate of IL10 = IS 1.

Shekel (1980–1985)

Main article: Old Israeli shekel

The original shekel, now known as the old 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 frequent devaluations against foreign currencies during the 1960s and 1970s. 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 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 freely convertible currency. Since 7 May 2006, new shekel derivative trading has also been available on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. 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. On 26 May 2008, CLS Bank International announced that it would settle payment instructions in new shekels, making the currency fully convertible. The shekel in modern times is often highly volatile, caused by Israel's policies, with many countries since 2023 refusing to economically cooperate with Israel.

Coins

In 1985, coins in denominations of 1 agora, 5 agorot, 10 agorot, ₪, and ₪1 were introduced. In 1990, ₪5 coins were introduced, followed by ₪10 coins in 1995. 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. The 5 agorot coin, last minted in 2007, was removed from circulation on 1 January 2008.

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. 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. The coins are minted by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO).

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 and new shekel coins will feature its unit names rendered in Arabic.

Image	Value	Technical parameters	Description	Date of	Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition
250px	1 agora	17 mm	1.2 mm	2 g	Aluminium bronze
92% copper
6% aluminium
2% nickel	Plain	Ancient galley, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English	Value, date	4 September 1985	1 April 1991
250px	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, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English	1 January 2008
250px	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
250px	₪0.5	26 mm	1.6 mm	6.5 g	Lyre	Value, date, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English
250px	₪1	18 mm	1.8 mm	3.5 g	Cupronickel
75% copper
25% nickel (1985–1993)Nickel-plated steel (1994–present)	Plain	Lily, "Yehud" in ancient Hebrew	Value, date, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English	4 September 1985	Current
250px	₪2	21.6 mm	2.3 mm	5.7 g	Nickel-plated steel	Segmented (plain and reeded sections)	Two cornucopia	9 December 2007
250px	₪5	24 mm	2.4 mm	8.2 g	Cupronickel
75% copper
25% nickel	12 sides	Capital of column	2 January 1990
250px		₪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 words "for the redemption of Zion" in ancient and modern Hebrew alphabet	7 February 1995

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 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. 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.

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.

Image	Value	Dimensions	Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue	Date of withdrawal
[[File:Israel 1 Sheqel 1986 Obverse & Reverse.jpg	97px]]	₪1	76×138 mm	green	Maimonides	Tiberias where Maimonides is buried; ancient stone lamp	8 May 1986	1995
[[File:Israel 5 New Sheqalim 1987 Obverse & Reverse.jpg	97px]]	₪5	blue	Levi Eshkol	Pipe carrying water, symbolizing the National Water Carrier, fields and barren land in background	4 September 1985	1995
[[File:Israel 10 New Sekel 1985 Obverse & Reverse.jpg	97px]]	₪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
[[File:Israel 20 New Sheqalim 1993 Obverse & Reverse.jpg	97px]]	₪20	dark gray	Moshe Sharett	The original building of Herzliya Gymnasium, Little Tel Aviv in background	2 April 1988	1 July 2000
[[File:Israel 50 New Sheqalim 1992 front & back.jpg	97px]]	₪50	purple	Shmuel Yosef Agnon	Jerusalem skyline, Eastern European shtetl, the setting of many of Agnon's stories.	4 September 1985	1 July 2000
[[File:Israel 100 New Sheqalim 1995 front & back.jpg	97px]]	₪100	brown	Yitzhak Ben-Zvi	Peki'in Synagogue with carob tree and cave; ancient stone lamp	19 August 1986	1 July 2000
[[File:Israel 200 New Sheqalim1994 Obverse & Reverse.jpg	97px]]	₪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 (1999–2017)

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 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.

Image	Value	Dimensions	Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue
[[File:Israel-20-New-Sheqalim-1998-revers.jpg	50px]][[File:Israel-20-New-Sheqalim-1998-avers.jpg	50px]]	₪20	71 × 138 mm	Green	Moshe Sharett	Jewish volunteers in World War II; a watchtower, commemorating tower and stockade settlements	3 January 1999
[[File:20 NIS Bill (polypropylene) Obverse & Reverse.jpg	99px]]	₪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 regular Series B 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
[[File:50 NIS Bill Obverse & Reverse.jpg	99px]]	₪50	Purple	Shmuel Yosef Agnon	Agnon's notebook, pen and glasses, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount	31 October 1999
[[File:100 NIS Bill Obverse & Reverse.jpg	99px]]	₪100	Brown	Yitzhak Ben-Zvi	Peki'in Synagogue	3 January 1999
[[File:200 NIS Bill Obverse & Reverse.jpg	99px]]	₪200	Red	Zalman Shazar	A street in Safed and text from Shazar's essay about Safed	31 October 1999
	₪500	Blue	Yitzhak Rabin	Part of a speech given by the late Prime Minister shortly before his assassination	Never printed

Series C (2014–present)

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

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, followed by the ₪200 note on 23 December 2015. The final two denominations, ₪20 and ₪100, were issued on 23 November 2017, completing the "Series C" banknote series.

With the issuing of the third series, the Bank of Israel has adopted the standard English spelling of shekel and plural shekels for its currency. Previously, the Bank had formally used the Hebrew transcriptions of sheqel and sheqalim (from שְׁקָלִים). The new notes also used the Arabic شيكل (šaykal) rather than شيقل (šayqal), which had been used on all banknotes previously.

The banknotes are printed by Orell Füssli Security Printing of Switzerland.

Third Series of the New Shekel	Image	Value	Dimensions	Description	Date of issue	Obverse	Reverse
[[File:20 New Sheqalim2017 Obverse & Reverse.png	90px]]	₪20	129 × 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...	23 November 2017
[[File:50 New Sheqalim2014 Obverse & Reverse.png	95px]]	₪50	136 × 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
[[File:100 New Sheqalim2017 Obverse & Reverse.png	100px]]	₪100	143 × 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	23 November 2017
[[File:200 New Sheqalim2015 Obverse & Reverse.png	105px]]	₪200	150 × 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

The cost of one euro in ILS (from 2011).

Currency	ISO 4217	Unit	1986	1991	1996	2001	2006	2011	2016
United States dollar	USD	1	1.36	2.59	3.36	4.22	4.47	3.46	3.77
Soviet ruble	SUR1	1	1.80	4.61
Russian ruble	RUB	1			0.62	0.14	0.16	0.12	0.05
Yen	JPY	100	0.81	1.87	3.16	3.42	4.00	4.27	3.44
Sterling (pound)	GBP	1	2.07	4.47	5.16	6.10	8.36	5.53	5.15
Deutsche Mark	DEM2	1	0.61	1.50	2.22	1.86	2.89	2.51	2.17
French franc	FRF3	1	0.19	0.44	0.65	0.55	0.86	0.75	0.65
Euro	EUR	1				3.63	5.65	4.91	4.25
Swiss franc	CHF	1	0.73	1.78	2.68	2.37	3.67	4.14	3.89
Jordanian dinar	JOD	1	4.25	3.34	4.50	5.89	6.44	4.81	5.32
Egyptian pound	EGP	1	2.12	0.72	0.94	1.07	0.77	0.57	0.42
Renminbi (yuan)	CNY	1	0.39	0.47	0.39	0.50	0.55	0.55	0.58
1 SUR ceased to exist after 1993, and was replaced by RUB.
2 DEM ceased to exist after 1999, and was replaced by EUR.
3 FRF ceased to exist after 1999, and was replaced by EUR.

References

The State of Palestine lacks an official legal tender. According to Article 4 of the 1994 Paris Protocol, [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Gaza-Jericho+Agreement+Annex+IV+-+Economic+Protoco.htm the Protocol allows the Palestinian Authority to adopt additional currencies]. In the [[West Bank]] the [[Jordanian dinar]] is widely accepted and in the [[Gaza Strip]] the [[Egyptian pound]] is often used.
(27 April 2011). "Israel lässt in Zürich Geld drucken". 20 Minuten.
(2012-07-17). "S. Korea Makes Money by Making Money". Voice of America News.
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"Jastrow, תִּקְלָא".
"One Palestine Pound". [[Bank of Israel]].
"One Israeli Pound". [[Bank of Israel]].
"First Series of the Pound". [[Bank of Israel]].
(6 April 2006). "CME to Launch Foreign Exchange Contract on Israeli Shekel". Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
"Israelis can soon travel the world with shekels in their pockets". [[Haaretz]].
"shekel begins trading on global markets". [[Jerusalem Post]].
(26 May 2008). "CLS Bank live with Israeli shekel and Mexican Peso".
"Macron calls to halt arms deliveries to Israel in Gaza war". [[BBC News]].
(4 March 2025). "Shekel volatility after US tariffs announcement".
"Israel shekel stumbles on Iran, Hezbollah attack concerns". [[Reuters]].
(5 March 2024). "Israel sanctions: Who has imposed curbs over Gaza war?". [[Deutsche Welle]].
(February 2023). "About the Agora and New Shekel Series". [[Bank of Israel]]}}{{Dead link.
(February 2023). "5 NEW SHEQALIM". The Bank of Israel }}{{Dead link.
(February 2023). "10 NEW SHEQALIM". The Bank of Israel }}{{Dead link.
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(1 January 2008). "Cancellation of the 5 agora coin.". The Bank of Israel.
[http://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L-3515589,00.html Tomer Avital's report] in [[Calcalist]], 21 April 2011 (Hebrew)
[http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4059359,00.html Gad Lior's report] in [[Ynet]], 21 April 2011
[https://www.boi.org.il/en/communication-and-publications/press-releases/update-of-the-inscription-on-circulating-coins/ Update of the inscription on circulating coins] [[Bank of Israel]] (https://www.boi.org.il). Retrieved on 2023-04-01.
Note that nickel-clad steel 1 new sheqalim coins were issued in 1994 and 1995
(2012). "The Banknote Book". www.BanknoteNews.com.
"The 500 NIS banknote that was never released (Obverse)".
(October 2005). "שטר בסימן שאלה". Bulletin of the Numismatics Association in Israel.
[http://www.bankisrael.gov.il/press/eng/101219/101219n.htm Press release, Bank of Israel] {{Webarchive. link. (29 March 2012 , 19 December 2009)
[http://www.bankisrael.gov.il/press/eng/110310/110310g.htm Press release, Bank of Israel] {{Webarchive. link. (29 March 2012 , 10 March 2011)
link. (10 September 2014)
(23 December 2015). "Israel's new NIS 200 note enters circulation today". [[Globes (newspaper).
[http://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/16-11-17-NewBankNotes.aspx Press release, Bank of Israel: The next banknotes in the new series – the NIS 20 and NIS 100 banknotes – will be distributed to the public on from Thursday, November 23, 2017 – 5 Kislev 5778] {{Webarchive. link. (17 April 2021 Bank of Israel (www.bankisrael.gov.il). 16 November 2017)
[http://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/14112012-a.aspx Press release, Bank of Israel: Information on the new series of banknotes] {{Webarchive. link. (1 May 2013 14 November 2012)
[http://www.bankisrael.gov.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/280413-a.aspx Press release by the Bank of Israel: Images and descriptions on the new series of Israeli new shekel banknotes] {{Webarchive. link. (15 November 2016 Bank of Israel (www.bankisrael.gov.il). 28 April 2013. Retrieved on 1 May 2013.)
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"Currency". Bank of Israel.

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