science

Old Israeli shekel

Old Israeli shekel is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Old Israeli shekel rather than just read about it. In short: The old Israeli shekel, then known as the shekel (Hebrew: שקל, formally sheqel, pl. שקלים, Sheqalim; Arabic: شيكل, šēkal, formerly Arabic: شيقل, šēqal until 2014; code ILR), was the currency of Israel between 24 February 1980 and 31 December 1985. It was replaced by the Israeli new shekel at a ratio of 1,000:1 on 1 January 1986.

Key takeaways

Old Israeli shekel belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Old Israeli shekel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Old Israeli shekel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The old Israeli shekel, then known as the shekel (Hebrew: שקל, formally sheqel, pl. שקלים, Sheqalim; Arabic: شيكل, šēkal, formerly Arabic: شيقل, šēqal until 2014; code ILR), was the currency of Israel between 24 February 1980 and 31 December 1985. It was replaced by the Israeli new shekel at a ratio of 1,000:1 on 1 January 1986. The old shekel was short-lived due to its hyperinflation. The old shekel was subdivided into 100 new agorot (אגורות חדשות). The shekel sign was used, although it was more commonly denominated as S or IS. As of December 2024, this symbol does not exist in Unicode. The old Israeli shekel replaced the Israeli pound (IL), which had been used until 24 February 1980, at the rate of IS 1 shekel to IL10.

History Development of a new currency to be known as the shekel (properly, sheqel) was approved by the Israeli Knesset on 4 June 1969. The governors of the Bank of Israel did not consider the time ripe until November 1977, when studies for its implementation began. Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Minister of Finance Simcha Erlich approved a proposal to redenominate the Israeli pound in May 1978; the proposal called for the currency to be exactly similar except for the removal of a zero from the inflated pound and agorot denominations. The shekel and new agora became legal tender on 22 February 1980 and went into circulation two days later. The official exchange rate at the time of introduction was US$1 = IS 3.89 = IL38.88. Initial denominations were IS 1, IS 5, IS 10, and IS 50, but over the next five years inflation led to another five: IS 100, IS 500, IS 1,000, IS 5,000, and IS 10,000. New coin and bill designs were selected through competitions among graphic designers. Beginning with the IS 500 issue, the size of the notes was standardized (76 mm × 138 mm or 3 in × 5 in), and the denominations were differentiated by color and design. A transparent section was added to discourage counterfeiting, and elements for the blind were added. Inflationary pressure did not ease. By the end of 1980, the shekel had already lost about half of its value (US$1 = IS 7.55). In 1981, the value of Israeli currency continued to fall, reaching IS 15.60 per U.S. dollar at the end of the year. At the end of 1982, the exchange rate was IS 33.65 = US$1 and was falling still. The following shows the official exchange rate of one U.S. dollar in specific periods of time at the end of the period:

June 1983: IS 47.52 December 1983: IS 107.77 March 1984: IS 153.26 June 1984: IS 236.40 September 1984: IS 401.34 December 1984: IS 638.71 March 1985: IS 858.50 June 1985: IS 1262.40 By August 1985, the exchange rate for one U.S. dollar reached IS 1500. The new Israeli shekel replaced the shekel following its hyperinflation and the enactment of the economic stabilization plan of 1985, which brought inflation under control. It became the currency of Israel on 4 September 1985, removing three zeros from the old notes. The old shekel is no longer in circulation, has been demonetized, and is not exchanged for current legal tender by the Bank of Israel.

Coins The initial series of coins in 1980 were for the denominations of 1, 5, and 10 new agorot and IS 1⁄2. These preserved the appearance of similar coins under the pound but were worth 10 times as much. The initial runs were struck at foreign mints to preserve the secrecy of the coming currency conversion. The IS 1 coin was introduced in 1981; IS 5 and IS 10 coins in 1982; and IS 50 and IS 100 coins in 1984. The 1 and 5 new agorot coins were aluminum; the 10 new agorot and IS 1⁄2, IS 1, and IS 100 coins cupronickel; the IS 5 and IS 50 coins an alloy of copper, aluminum, and nickel; and the IS 10 was cupro-aluminum.

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

Banknotes The initial series of banknotes in 1980 were for the denominations of IS 1, IS 5, IS 10, and IS 50 and preserved the appearance of the IL10, IL 50, IL 100, and IL 500 notes that they replaced. Subsequent issues added the denominations of IS 100, IS 500, IS 1,000, IS 5,000, and IS 10,000.

See also Bank of Israel Economy of Israel

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Bank of Israel catalog of Israeli currency since 1948 Archived 2009-02-17 at the Wayback Machine

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Old Israeli shekel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Old Israeli shekel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Old Israeli shekel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Old Israeli shekel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Old Israeli shekel

In research: Old Israeli shekel appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Old Israeli shekel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Old Israeli shekel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1980 establishments in Israel, 1980s in economic history, 1985 disestablishments in Israel, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Old Israeli shekel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Old Israeli shekel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Old Israeli shekel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Old Israeli shekel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Old Israeli shekel in simple terms?

Why does Old Israeli shekel matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Old Israeli shekel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Old Israeli shekel.