The Israeli pound or Israeli lira (Hebrew: לירה ישראלית, lira yisraelit, plural, לירות ישראלית, lirot yisraelit) was the currency of Israel from shortly after the creation of the state in 1948 until 1980. 1 Israeli Pound coin (1971–9), from World Coin Gallery File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

History

The British Mandate of Palestine, which administered the territory now known as Israel prior to May 15, 1948, issued the Palestinian pound, a currency equal in value and pegged to the UK Pound, which was divided into 1000 Mils. Most banknotes in circulation were issued by the Palestine Currency Board, but the Anglo-Palestine bank of the Zionist movement issued banknotes of its own bearing the same values and similar in shape. Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The pound was the currency of Palestine between 1927 and 1948. ... ISO 4217 Code GBP User(s) United Kingdom, the British Indian Ocean Territory[1] Inflation 2. ... Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Jewish nationhood is thought to have evolved somewhere between 1200 BCE and late Second Temple times,[1][2] and where Jewish kingdoms existed up to the 2nd century CE. Zionism is...

Israel inherited the Palestinian pound but, shortly after the establishment of the state, new banknotes and coins were issued bearing the name of the new state. On these banknotes the term lira replaced pound and the Hebrew name prutah (sometimes pruta, פרוטה) replaced the mil. The pegging to the UK Pound was abolished within a few years and, in 1960, the sub-division of the lira was changed from 1000 prutah to 100 agorot (singular agora, אגורה ,אגורות). “Hebrew” redirects here. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The agora (אגורה, plural agorot) is a denomination of the currency of Israel. ...

During the 1960s, a debate over the non-Hebrew name of the Israeli currency resulted in a law ordering the Minister of Finance to change the name lira into a Hebrew name, sheqel (שקל). The law allowed the minister to decide on a proper date for the change. The law did not come into effect until February 1980, when the Israeli government decided to change the monetary system and introduce the sheqel at a rate of 1 sheqel = 10 lirot. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The sheqel was the currency of Israel between 1980 and 1985. ...

Coins

Israel's first coins were aluminium 25 mil pieces, dated 1948 and 1949, which were issued in 1949 before the adoption of the pruta. Later in 1949, coins were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 250 prutah.

In 1960, coins were issued denominated in agora. There were 1, 5, 10 and 25 agorot pieces. In 1963, ½ and 1 lira coins were introduced, followed by 5 lirot coins in 1978.

Banknotes

A 5 Israeli pound note from 1968 with the portrait of Albert Einstein.

A 5 Israeli pound (Specimen).

In 1948, the government issued fractional notes for 50 and 100 mils whilst the Anglo-Palestine Bank issued banknotes for 500 mils, 1, 5, 10 and 50 lirot (pounds) between 1948 and 1951. In 1952, the government issued a second series of fractional notes for 50 and 100 prutah with 250 prutah notes added in 1953. Also in 1952, the "Bank Leumi Le-Israel" took over paper money production and issued the same denominations as the Anglo-Palestine Bank except that the 500 mils was replaced by a 500 prutah note. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1146x562, 490 KB) Summary 5 Israeli pounds banknote with the portrait of Albert Einstein - 1968. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1146x562, 490 KB) Summary 5 Israeli pounds banknote with the portrait of Albert Einstein - 1968. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Albert Einstein( ) (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is widely considered to have been one of the greatest physicists of all time. ... In biology, specimen is an individual animal or a plant or a microorganism that is used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species. ...

The Bank of Israel began note production in 1955, also issuing notes for 500 pruta, 1, 5, 10 and 50 lirot. In 1968, 100 lirot notes were introduced, followed by 500 lirot notes in 1975.