The Bank of Israel is planning a new series of coins, 25 years after issuing the current series. The new coins will enter circulation within 2-3 years.
The reasons for the new coins to prevent forgery, reduce production costs, and to refresh the currency after a generation. Current production costs of the 10 agorot and 50 agorot coins are almost equal to their nominal value.
The new coins will have a completely different design from the current ones. No decision has yet been taken on the new designs, or how many coins will be issued. Most likely the same six denominations - 10 agorot, 50 agorot, NIS 1, NIS 2, NIS 5, and NIS 10 - will be issued under the new series.
The Bank of Israel is also considering ending use of the term "New Israeli Shekel", and reverting to the previous name of "Shekel". The New Israeli Shekel replaced the shekel in 1985, lopping off three zeros, during Israel's era of hyperinflation.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 21, 2011
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