Sheqel: From Biblical Silver to the Modern Israeli Coin

Illustrated Specimen Details: State of Israel 100 Sheqalim

Example Specimen: 100 sheqalim, 1985 — State of Israel

Design & Inscriptions: This circulating commemorative coin bears the date התשמ"ה — JE 5745 according to the Jewish (Hebrew) calendar, which corresponds to the year 1985 in the Gregorian calendar. The denomination is indicated in both English and Hebrew as 100 SHEQALIM - שקליס. The name of the state is inscribed in three languages: Arabic, English, and Hebrew (اسرائيل - ISRAEL - ישראל). The coin was designed by Gabi Neumann and Tidhar Dagan and minted at the Monnaie de Paris (Pessac factory, France).

The obverse features a stylized portrait of Ze'ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Yevgenyevich or Yevnovich Zhabotinsky) against a background of Stars of David. Jabotinsky was a Jewish writer, poet, revisionist Zionist, and one of the co-founders of the State of Israel. The future leader of right-wing Zionism was born in 1880 in Odesa (one of the largest cities of modern Ukraine) into a family of natives of the Ukrainian cities of Nikopol and Berdychiv. The reverse proudly displays the Emblem of Israel: a temple menorah surrounded by an olive branch on each side, with the word "Israel" written in Hebrew below it.

1. STATE OF ISRAEL (1980-1985): sheqel = 100 new agorot

Etymology and Ancient Origins of the Sheqel

About the name of the coin: The sheqel (plural: sheqalim) was introduced as the monetary unit of Israel in 1980, replacing the Israeli lira (another name: the Israeli pound). It was divided into 100 new agorot. Since 1985, the New Sheqel (Hebrew: "שקל חדש") has been in circulation. The choice of the name "sheqel" for the national currency was deeply historical, as the term is more than 2,000 years old.

From Weight Standard to Ancient Coinage

The sheqel (more commonly spelled shekel) is one of the oldest monetary and weight denominations in world history. Originating in the civilizations of the ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, and ancient Israel, it functioned initially as a standard unit of weight (ranging from 5 to 9 grams) used to measure gold, silver, and other valuables. A few thousand years ago, the Sumerians used a somewhat similar-sounding term to denote the weight of 1 grain of wheat, and a related term for 180 grains. The word derives from a Semitic root meaning "to weigh" (in Hebrew: "שקל"). It is also worth mentioning the ancient Greek and Persian coin, the siglos, which shares a very similar etymology with the sheqel.

Biblical Significance and Temple Currency

The sheqel is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), where it appears as a unit of weight, a standard for tribute payments, and a temple contribution. By the 2nd century BC in Tyre (an ancient Phoenician city-state in modern Lebanon), the minting of high-purity silver coins named Tyrian shekels began. These coins circulated widely in the eastern Mediterranean and were famously associated with temple taxation in Jerusalem, often linked to the biblical "30 pieces of silver". In the 1st century AD, during periods such as the First Jewish Revolt and the Bar Kokhba Revolt, ancient Jewish states produced their own shekel-denominated coinage, which remains among the most historically and religiously significant ancient Jewish issues.

The Sheqel in Modern Israel

In recent history, the sheqel was not restored immediately after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. For over 30 years, the nation used Palestinian pounds and then the Israeli lira. The first metal sheqalim of the 1980s were produced by mints across the globe, including facilities in Israel, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Modern shekel coinage appears in nickel-plated steel, bronze alloys, and bimetallic formats. The designs intentionally reference ancient Judean coinage, featuring ancient Jewish coin motifs, menorahs, pomegranates, Hebrew inscriptions, and modern national symbols. The revival of this ancient name perfectly symbolizes the continuity with Jewish historical traditions.