New Israeli Shekel
Shekel is a Biblical term
referring to a unit of weight used for currency and is the name of Israel's
modern currency.
The
shekel as a unit of currency is known as early as the second millennium BCE
when it is recorded in the Bible that Abraham negotiated the purchase of a
field, and a cave that was therein, at Machpela in Hebron. The Torah records
Abraham saying:
“I
will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead
there. Ephron, the land-owner, replied: the land is worth four hundred shekels
of silver... and Abraham weighed to Ephron… four hundred shekels of
silver, current money with the merchant.” (Genesis 23:13, 15-17)
In
1969, the government of Israel voted to change the name of the country's
currency from the Israel Lira to the shekel and on January 1, 1986, the New
Israeli Shekel (NIS) replaced the old shekel.
Today,
the New Israeli Shekel consists of 100 agorot and has coinage denominations of
10 agorot, 1/2 shekel (50 agorot), 1 shekel, 2 shekalim, 5 shekalim and 10
shekalim. Shekel banknotes are issued in
denominations of 20 shekalim, 50 shekalim, 100 shekalim and 200 shekalim.
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200 New Israeli Shekalim Bill
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100 New Israeli Shekalim Bill
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50 New Israeli Shekalim New
Series C Bill
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50 New Israeli Shekalim
Bill
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20 New Israeli Shekalim
Bill
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10 New Israeli Shekalim
Coin
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5 New Israeli Shekalim Coin
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2 New Israeli Shekalim Coin
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| 1 New Israeli Shekel |
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| Half Shekel |
