Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Israeli new sheqel -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

Israeli new sheqel שקל חדש (Hebrew) شيقل جديد (Arabic)
1 shekel coin
ISO 4217 Code	ILS
User(s)	Israel,  Palestinian territories The West Bank, Gaza Strip
Inflation	0.5%
Source	The World Factbook, 2007
Subunit
1/100	agora
Symbol	₪
Plural	sheqalim (unofficially shkalim)
agora	agorot
Coins	10 agorot, ½, 1, 2, 5, 10 new sheqalim
Banknotes	20, 50, 100, 200 new sheqalim
Central bank	Bank of Israel
Website	www.bankisrael.gov.il

The Israeli New Sheqel (Hebrew: שקל חדש, sheqel ḥadash) (sign: ₪; code: ILS) (also spelled unofficially shekel; pl. sheqalim or unofficially shkalim - שקלים ,Arabic: شيقل جديد, shiqel jadid or شيكل جديد shikel jadid) is the currency of Israel. The new sheqel is divided into 100 agorot (אגורות) (sing. agora, Hebrew: אגורה). Denominations made in this currency are marked with the sheqel sign.

Contents 1 History 2 Coins 3 Banknotes 4 Gallery 5 Abbreviation 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

History

The New Shekel replaced the Shekel on January 1, 1986 at a rate of 1,000 Old Shekalim = 1 new Shekel.

Since January 1, 2003, the ILS has been a freely convertible currency. Since May 7, 2006 sheqel derivative trading has also been available on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.¹ 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 hard currency, with access available to it in almost any place in the world. ^{2 3}

On May 26, 2008, CLS Bank International (CLS Bank) has announced that it will settle payment instructions in Israeli New Shekel, thus making this currency fully convertible.⁴

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.

Coins

In 1985, coins in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 agorot, ½ and 1 new sheqel were introduced.⁵ In 1990, 5 new shqalim coins were introduced,⁶ followed by 10 new shqalim in 1995.⁷ Production of 1 agora pieces ceased the same year, and they were removed from circulation on April 1, 1991.^{citation needed} A 2 new shqalim coin was introduced on December 9, 2007.⁸ The 5 agorot coin, last minted in 2006, was removed from circulation on January 1, 2008.⁹

Circulation coins of the new sheqel are:

New sheqel coin series
Value	Technical parameters				Description			Date of
	Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	issue	withdrawal
1 agora	17 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	April 1, 1991
5 agorot	19.5 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		4 g		Smooth	Replica of a coin issued by Mattathias Antigonus (37 - 40 B.C.E.) with the seven-branched candelabrum, the state emblem, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English			Current
½ new sheqel	26 mm		6.5 g		Smooth	Lyre, the state emblem	Value, date, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English		Current
1 new sheqel	18 mm		4 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel10	Smooth	Lily, "Yehud" in ancient Hebrew, the state emblem	Value, date, "Israel" in Hebrew, Arabic and English	September 4, 1985	Current
2 new shqalim	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 shqalim	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 shqalim	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.

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

Banknotes

In September 1985, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 ILS. The 1, 5 and 10 ILS notes used the same basic designs as the earlier 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 shqalim notes but with the denominations altered.

In 1986, 100 ILS notes were introduced, followed by 200 ILS notes in 1991. The 1, 5 and 10 ILS notes were later replaced by coins. A plan to issue a 500 ILS 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. However, in February 2008 the Bank of Israel announced that planning of an entirely new series of banknotes has started, and that the new series to be issued as from 2010, will most probably include a 500 ILS banknote as well. The design of the new banknotes has not yet been determined, but if the 20 ILS polymer banknote of the current series, introduced in April 2008, will be successful, the new series will almost certainly consist of polymer notes only. Possible designs under review are: non-political famous personalities, such as Teddy Kollek (the legendary mayor of Jerusalem), Rabbi Shlomo Goren (IDF chief chaplain during the 1967 Six-Day War, famous for his shofar blowing on Jerusalem's Temple Mount minutes after its conquest by Israeli forces), Ilan Ramon (Israel's first astronaut who perished on the Columbia in 2003), Naomi Shemer (known as "First Lady of Israeli Song"). Other possible designs may include landscapes, flora and fauna of Israel.

Notes currently in circulation are:

Second Series of the New Sheqel
Value	Dimensions	Colour	Obverse	Reverse
20 ILS	71x 138 mm	Green	Moshe Sharett	Jewish volunteers in World War II; a watchtower, commemorating tower and stockade settlements
50 ILS		Purple	Shmuel Yosef Agnon	Agnon's notebook, pen and glasses, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount
100 ILS		Brown	Yitzhak Ben-Zvi	Peki'in Synagogue
200 ILS		Red	Zalman Shazar	a street in Safed and text from Shazar's essay about Safed

The 20 ILS 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 to Israel" (in Hebrew), in red ink.

Face of the two 20 ILS bills, left one is paper and the right one is made of polypropylene. Back of the two 20 ILS bills, left one is paper and the right one is made of polypropylene.

Gallery

20 new sheqalim

50 new sheqalim

100 new sheqalim

200 new sheqalim

Abbreviation

In Hebrew the new sheqel is usually abbreviated ש"ח (pronounced shaḥ). The symbol for the new sheqel, ₪, is a combination of the first Hebrew letters of the words sheqel (ש) and ḥadash (ח). This symbol, however, proved unpopular, and the two-letter abbreviation is far more common in advertisements and on price tags.

Use Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
Use XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
Use OANDA.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

See also

• Economy of Israel
• Sheqel sign

References

External links

• Bank of Israel catalogue of Israeli currency since 1948

• Exchange rates since 1948
• American Israel Numismatic Association
• Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation
• Current Sheqel Dollar Rate
• SHEQEL - The Online Catalog of Israel Numismatics 1927 - present

v • d • e Historical currencies of Israel      Main unit Palestinian pound May–August 1948 Israeli lira 1948–1980 Sheqel 1980–1985 New sheqel 1985–present Subunit 1/1000 = mil 1/1000 = pruta 1948–1960 1/100 = agora 1960–1980 1/100 = new agora 1/100 = agora

v • d • e Currencies of Asia Central Afghan afghani · Kazakhstani tenge · Kyrgyzstani som · Mongolian tögrög · Russian ruble · Tajikistani somoni · Turkmenistani manat · Uzbekistani som East Chinese yuan · Hong Kong dollar · Japanese yen · Macanese pataca · North Korean won · New Taiwan dollar · South Korean won South-East Brunei dollar · Cambodian riel · Indonesian rupiah · Lao kip · Malaysian ringgit · Myanma kyat · Philippine peso · Singapore dollar · Thai baht · U.S. dollar + East Timorese centavo (East Timor) · Vietnamese đồng South Bangladeshi taka · Bhutanese ngultrum · Indian rupee · Maldivian rufiyaa · Nepalese rupee · Pakistani rupee · Sri Lankan rupee West Armenian dram · Azerbaijani manat · Bahraini dinar · Euro (Cyprus) · Georgian lari · Iranian rial · Iraqi dinar · Israeli new sheqel · Jordanian dinar · Kuwaiti dinar · Lebanese pound · Omani rial · Qatari riyal · Saudi riyal · Syrian pound · Turkish new lira · UAE dirham · Yemeni rial

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 16 November 2008, at 18:50.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Israeli new sheqel".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Israeli_new_sheqel

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.