New Israeli sheqel

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New Israeli sheqel שקל חדש (Hebrew) شيقل جديد Template:Ar icon
1 sheqel 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	bankisrael.gov.il

For criticism see Criticism of New_Israeli_sheqel

The Israeli New Sheqel (Hebrew: שקל חדש‎, Shekel 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 Abbreviation 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

History

The new sheqel replaced the sheqel on January 1, 1986 at a rate of 1,000 old sheqalim = 1 new sheqel.

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 sheqalim coins were introduced,^[6] followed by 10 new sheqalim in 1995.^[7] Production of 1 agora pieces ceased the same year, and they were removed from circulation on April 1, 1991. A 2 new sheqalim 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% nickel[10]	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
Template:Coin-silver-color| 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	Template:Coin-silver-color| Current
Template:Standard coin table notice

• 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.

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. 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.

Template:Exchange Rate

See also

• Economy of Israel
• Sheqel sign

References

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at New Israeli sheqel. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of this Wikinfo article is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. English | Română | edit

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 coins with pictures

Template:Historical currencies of Israel Template:Currencies of Asia