Israel - Bank of Israel, 500 Pruta, 1955 (5715)

Struck at the very outset of the young state's monetary history, this note belongs to the first series issued in the name of the Bank of Israel, which had been established only in 1954 to take over note issue from the commercial Bank Leumi le-Israel. The 500 Pruta was the smallest denomination of the new Lira system, in which one thousand pruta made a lira, and it circulated as everyday small change from its issue on 4 August 1955. Its imagery is deliberately archaeological: the ruined synagogue at Bar'am in the Upper Galilee anchors the new nation's currency to the deep Jewish past of the land, a recurring theme across this founding series. Designed and printed by Thomas De La Rue of London, the note carries a menorah-and-cyclamen watermark and legends in Hebrew, Arabic and English reflecting the country's official languages.

Pick 24. UNC. Serial: פ 600912