In biblical times:
Sheqel was a measure of weight, often mentioned when specifying the amount silver or gold paid (e.g. in
Genesis 23:15,
Abraham pays 400 silver sheqels for the
Machpelah's cave to
bury Sarrah in).
24th February 1980:
- The Israeli Sheqel (IS) was introduced as an Israeli monetary unit, to replace the Israeli Pound, and given the value of 1 Sheqel : 10 Israeli Pounds.
- The New Agora which replaced the existing Agora was given the value of 1 New Agora : 10 Agoras.
4th September 1985:
As a response to the massive
inflation in Israel, the following reforms were made:
- The New Israeli Sheqel (NIS) was introduced and given the value of 1 New Sheqel : 1000 Sheqels.
- The original Agora was reintroduced and given the value of 1 Agora : 10 Sheqels.
- A new currency sign was introduced - ₪.
As of October 2001:
The New Israeli Shekel is the Israeli national
currency, along with
Agora, which is the 1/100th of a New Israeli Sheqel. In colloquial speech, it is referred to simply as "sheqels" and "agoras".
New Israeli Sheqels are available in 1, 5 and 10 sheqel coins and 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 sheqel banknotes.