 IL 500 note (obverse and reverse) issued in 1975 | |
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | ILP |
| Unit | |
| Plural | pounds (לירות lirot) |
| Symbol | ל"י (Hebrew), IL (Latin) |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄1000 | mil (1951–1952) pruta (1952–1960) |
| 1⁄100 | agora (1960–1980) |
| Plural | |
| mil (1951–1952) pruta (1952–1960) | prutot (פרוטות) |
| agora (1960–1980) | agorot (אגורות) |
| Banknotes | IL 5, IL 10, IL 50, IL 100, IL 500 |
| Coins | 1, 5, 10, 25 agorot, IL 1⁄2, IL 1, IL 5 |
| Demographics | |
| Date of introduction | 9 June 1952 |
| Date of withdrawal | 23 February 1980 |
| Replaced by | First shekel |
| User(s) |  Israel (1952–1980) |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Bank Leumi (1952–1955) Bank of Israel (1955–1980) |
| Valuation | |
| Pegged with | £1 stg at par (1952–1954) |
| This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. | |
The pound or lira (Hebrew: לירה ישראלית Lira Yisra'elit, Arabic: جنيه إسرائيلي Junayh ʾIsrāʾīlī; abbreviation: IL[1] in Latin, ל"י in Hebrew; code ILP) was the currency of the State of Israel from 9 June 1952 until 23 February 1980. The Israeli pound replaced the Palestine pound and was initially pegged at par to £1 sterling. It was replaced by the shekel on 24 February 1980, at the rate of IS 1 = IL 10, which was in turn replaced by the new shekel in 1985.
Before the new currency was brought in, the Anglo-Palestine Bank issued banknotes denominated in Palestine pounds. They were in Hebrew לירה א״י (lira E.Y. i.e. lira Eretz-Yisraelit) and Arabic junayh filisṭīnī (جنيه فلسطيني).[2]
On 1 May 1951, all the assets and liabilities of the Anglo Palestine Bank were transferred to a new company called Bank Leumi Le-Yisrael (Israel National Bank) and the currency name became: lira yisraelit (לירה ישראלית) in Hebrew, junayh ʾisrāʾīlī in Arabic, and Israeli pound in English.[3] The new currency was issued in 1952, and entered circulation on June 9. From 1955, after the Bank of Israel was established and took over the duty of issuing banknotes, only the Hebrew name was used.[4]
- ^ "Bank of Israel Law, 5714–1954*" (PDF). 3 September 1954.
- ^ One Palestine Pound, IL: Bank of Israel, archived from the original on April 27, 2006
- ^ One Israeli Pound, IL: Bank of Israel, archived from the original on 2007-09-27
- ^ First Series of the Pound, IL: Bank Le-Israel, archived from the original on 2007-09-27