The Israeli new shekel (Hebrew: שֶׁקֶל חָדָשׁ sheqel ẖadash; Arabic: شيكل جديد šēkal jadīd; sign: ₪; ISO code: ILS; abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel (Hebrew: שקל ישראלי, Arabic: شيكل إسرائيلي), 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 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 (ש) and ẖadash (ח) (new). When the shekel sign is unavailable the abbreviation NIS (ש״ח and ش.ج) is used.
ILS Coins
In 1985, coins in denominations of 1 agora, 5 agorot, 10 agorot, ₪1⁄2, 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.[citation needed] 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).
ILS Banknotes
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.
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.
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.[31] 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.