ILS cash — the new Israeli shekel and its exchange on the Internet

On our website, you can find exchangers that support the sale/purchase of Israeli shekels in cash. To do this, you will need to visit the office of the exchanger; for example, such offices are available in Tel Aviv or other major cities. We suggest briefly familiarising yourself with the features and advantages of the Israeli national currency.

ILS cash in circulation

In Israel for the year 2022 are in circulation:

• Banknotes in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200.
• Coins in denominations of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, and the 20 agor coin.

100 agor = 1 shekel.

Since 2003, the new ILS shekel has been a freely convertible international currency along with seventeen other currencies of the global interbank system.

In 2008, 20 new shekels were introduced in the form of a polymer note — more resistant to wear and tear, although 1.5 times more expensive to produce.

Israeli coins bear Hebrew numerals to mark dates according to the local calendar of the lunar-solar cycle.

Since 2013, new banknotes have been issued, and the old ones are being phased out of circulation.

The appearance of the banknotes:

• 20 ILS — red colour, depicting the poetess Rachel Bluvshtein.
• 50 ILS — green colour, representing the poet Shaul Chernichovsky.
• 100 ILS — orange colour, shows the poet Leah Goldberg.
• 200 ILS — blue colour, shows the poet Natan Alterman.

The personalities on the banknotes played an essential role in shaping modern Hebrew culture. However, the issue caused widespread media discussion because no Sephardic poet was included.

History of the currency

The shekel is considered one of the oldest currencies in the world, with the first discovered references dating back to 2,000 BC. The territory where modern Israel is located was controlled by Britain until 1948, at which time the Israeli lira was pegged to the British pound.

When Israel became independent, it was decided not to change the currency's name. However, in 1980, against the background of constantly growing inflation, the authorities made denomination and, at the same time, issued a new currency — ten Israeli lira equated to one shekel.

However, inflation continued and reached 1000 per cent in just five years. Then a new shekel was created (1 new shekel = 1000 old shekels).

The country uses a floating exchange rate system. When writing (2022), 1 dollar is approximately 3.5 ILS.