Israel Banknotes: Lira, Shekel and New Shekel Collecting Guide
Few countries have changed money as quickly as Israel. In less than forty years, collectors get the emergency pound notes of the founding months, the Israeli lira, the short-lived shekel of 1980, and the new shekel that finally beat inflation. Every changeover left behind a complete, collectible chapter of paper.
Last updated: July 2026
Israeli banknotes span four currencies in four decades: the Palestine pound notes of 1948, the Israeli lira or pound (1952 to 1980), the shekel (1980 to 1985), and the new shekel issued by the Bank of Israel since 1985. That rapid succession is the whole appeal for collectors. Israel's paper money records the improvised finance of a brand-new state, a national debate over what to call its currency, one of the worst peacetime inflations of the twentieth century, and the textbook stabilization that ended it. This hub walks through each era, the note series the Bank of Israel has issued, and how to start an Israel collection.
How did Israeli paper money begin?
Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, before it had a central bank, so its first banknotes came from a commercial bank. The Anglo-Palestine Bank, the Zionist-founded bank that had operated under the British Mandate, won the concession to issue notes for the new state, and its pound notes reached circulation in the summer of 1948, still denominated in the Palestine pound of the Mandate era. In 1952 the renamed Bank Leumi le-Israel issued a fresh series, introduced in June of that year, and the currency became the Israeli pound, known in Hebrew as the lira.
The state took over soon after. The Bank of Israel Law passed the Knesset in August 1954, the Bank of Israel opened on December 1, 1954, and it issued its first banknote series in 1955. The lira it inherited was originally divided into 1,000 prutot, a subdivision changed to 100 agorot in 1960. Bank of Israel lira notes carried the young country's landscapes, workers, scientists, and later its founding figures, and they remained the money of daily life until 1980.
Why did Israel replace the lira with the shekel in 1980?
The change was about language before it was about economics. Lira is a loanword from Latin, and after years of debate the Knesset ordered the Minister of Finance to replace it with a Hebrew name. The chosen name, shekel, revived the ancient Hebrew unit of weight and money known from the Bible. On February 24, 1980 the shekel replaced the pound at a rate of 1 shekel to 10 lirot, with the first notes issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 50 shekels.
What happened in Israel's 1980s inflation crisis?
The shekel was born into an accelerating price spiral. Annual inflation reached 445 percent in 1984, the figure cited in National Bureau of Economic Research work on Israel's stabilization, and the banknotes tell the story: between 1981 and 1985 the Bank of Israel added 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, and finally 10,000 shekel notes, the last bearing Golda Meir. Strictly speaking this was extreme inflation rather than hyperinflation, since Israel never sustained the 50 percent per month pace economists use as the threshold, which is why it does not appear in the Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table. For the episodes that did cross that line, see every hyperinflation ranked.
In July 1985 a national unity government launched the Economic Stabilization Plan, a package of budget cuts, a wage and price freeze, and a fixed exchange rate that became a textbook case worldwide. It worked. Inflation fell from 445 percent in 1984 to 185 percent in 1985 and to roughly 20 percent in 1986, per the same NBER account of the episode.
When did the new shekel replace the old shekel?
As part of the stabilization, Israel dropped three zeros. The Bank of Israel dates the new shekel's introduction to September 4, 1985, when it became the currency of Israel at 1,000 old shekels to 1 new shekel, and the changeover was completed on January 1, 1986. The first new shekel notes reused respected designs, so the Golda Meir 10,000 shekel note became the 10 new shekel note. The new shekel has been Israel's currency ever since, and it stands today as one of the region's most stable currencies, a remarkable arc for collectors to hold in paper.
| Series or era | Years | What defines it |
|---|---|---|
| Anglo-Palestine Bank notes | 1948 | The founding paper of the state, issued by a commercial bank in Palestine pounds before a central bank existed. The scarcest Israeli notes. |
| Bank Leumi Israeli pound | 1952 to 1955 | The June 1952 series that introduced the Israeli pound, or lira, still issued by a commercial bank. |
| Bank of Israel lira series | 1955 to 1980 | The first central bank issues from 1955 onward, with landscapes, workers, and national figures across several series. |
| Old shekel | 1980 to 1985 | The inflation currency. Denominations climbed from 1 to 10,000 shekels in five years, ending with the Golda Meir note. |
| New shekel, first series | 1985 to 2000 | Stabilization-era notes from 1 to 200 new shekels featuring figures such as Maimonides, Golda Meir, and S.Y. Agnon, withdrawn July 1, 2000. |
| New shekel, second series | 1999 onward | Modernized 20, 50, 100, and 200 notes carrying statesmen and writers, with upgraded security features. |
| New shekel, third series | 2014 to 2017 | The current "poets" series: Rachel Bluwstein (20), Shaul Tchernichovsky (50), Leah Goldberg (100), and Nathan Alterman (200). |
How do you start collecting Israeli banknotes?
Israel rewards era-based collecting. A four-note set holding one lira note, one old shekel note, one first-series new shekel note, and one current poet note tells the whole monetary story in a single page of an album. The inflation-era shekel notes are generally plentiful and affordable in high grade because so many were left unspent, while the 1948 and 1950s issues are the challenge pieces. Condition drives value, so learn the grading ladder in our banknote grading guide before you buy, and keep our banknote glossary handy for terms like watermark and security thread. Because Planet Banknote's inventory changes constantly, the best way to see what is available right now is the full banknotes by country directory, and for the wider story of collapsed currencies, browse our hyperinflation sets.
Frequently asked questions
What currency does Israel use today?
Israel uses the new shekel, issued by the Bank of Israel. The Bank of Israel dates its introduction to September 4, 1985, when it replaced the old shekel at 1,000 to 1, with the changeover completed on January 1, 1986. The banknotes in circulation today belong to the third new shekel series, issued between 2014 and 2017, featuring the Hebrew poets Rachel Bluwstein, Shaul Tchernichovsky, Leah Goldberg, and Nathan Alterman.
What was the Israeli lira or pound?
The lira, also called the Israeli pound, was Israel's currency from June 1952 until February 1980. It was first issued by Bank Leumi le-Israel and then by the Bank of Israel from 1955, after the central bank was established in December 1954. On February 24, 1980 the shekel replaced it at 1 shekel to 10 lirot, carrying out a Knesset law that directed the finance minister to adopt a Hebrew currency name.
Did Israel have hyperinflation in the 1980s?
Not by the technical definition. Annual inflation reached 445 percent in 1984, per National Bureau of Economic Research work on Israel's stabilization, which is extreme but well below the 50 percent per month pace economists use to define hyperinflation, so Israel does not appear in the Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table. The crisis was still severe enough to force the 1985 Economic Stabilization Plan and a 1,000 to 1 currency reform.
Why is Israel's currency called the new shekel?
Because it replaced the original shekel of 1980. As part of the 1985 Economic Stabilization Plan, Israel dropped three zeros from its currency, exchanging 1,000 old shekels for 1 new shekel from September 4, 1985. The name distinguishes the stable post-reform currency from the inflation-era shekel, and it has remained the new shekel ever since.
Are old Israeli banknotes valuable?
It depends on the era and the condition. Inflation-era shekel notes from 1980 to 1985 are generally plentiful and affordable, even in high grades, because the reform left many unspent. The 1948 Anglo-Palestine Bank notes and early 1950s issues are the scarce, sought-after pieces, and condition matters enormously across every era. None of the withdrawn notes are legal tender, so value comes entirely from collector demand.
Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.