Agorot.com

Agorot

admin — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:07:29 +0000

Agorot is the plural term for the national monetary unit of Israel and is also known as the new sheqel.

Agorot is the national currency in Israel and is sometimes referred to as the new Israeli sheqel. The singular term for this is agora. Agorot are aluminum coins which can be classified into three classes. Israel has used these coins since the ancient times.

Contemporarily, the term Agorot means the 100th part of the new sheqel. Agorot coins were classified to 5’s, 10’s and 50’s. However, 50 Agorot contain an inscription which says 1/2 New Sheqel.

See also

Agorot history

admin — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:07:07 +0000

The name Agorot was established upon the recommendation of the Academy of the Hebrew Language.
The term was used in 1960 when the Israeli government decided to amend the subdivision of the Israeli lira or Israeli pound from 1,000 prutot to 100 Agorot. It was believed that the term Agorot came from the Hebrew word agorat kessef which means piece of silver.

The Israelis value their history so much that even their money contains something that could make their minds go back in time. Their 1 agora has a motif of Ancient Galley while the 5 Agorot contains the replica of war the Jews had against Rome, depicting a lulav which has two etrogim. Other Israeli money also has something etched to it which takes them back to their most treasured memories of their past.

Agorot as Israel’s national monetary unit

admin — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:06:44 +0000

In 1980, the sheqel replaced the Israeli lira was abolished.
This monetary unit is called agora hadasha or new agora in which 1 sheqel is equal to 100 new Agorot. Because of the high inflation rate, the government of Israel was forced to change its currency once again in the year of 1985.

The Agora coin has been circulating until April 1, 1991. Then, it has been stopped when the Bank of Israel decided to take it out due to the high cost of coin production. When paying cash, the amount of all the stuffs in any shop has to be rounded off to the nearest multiple of 5 Agorot. However, there is no rounding off when a person pays by using cheques, credit cards or bank orders.