Israel

The foundational rarity of Israeli paper money begins with the 1948 Anglo-Palestine Bank notes, printed in secret by the American Bank Note Company before the state’s final name had been fixed, resulting in issues without the word “Israel” as a formal country title. Later series introduced some of the most distinctive motifs in modern numismatics: the 5 lirot note featuring Albert Einstein, one of the rare global cases in which the physicist appears on a circulating banknote, alongside designs incorporating ancient Hebrew script, menorah imagery, and coin types from the Bar Kokhba revolt. These elements give Israeli notes a direct archaeological link to antiquity rather than relying solely on modern portraiture.

Across later shekel and new shekel issues, Masada and Herodium appear as key landscape and fortress anchors, while Dead Sea Scroll-inspired lettering and coin imagery function as both design references and historical connectors. High-denomination inflation-era notes of the 1980s, including the 10,000 sheqalim type, add a separate collector layer, marking the final stage before the stabilized New Shekel series. Security structures, microprinting, transparent elements in polymer issues, and dense typographic layouts give Israeli banknotes a technical profile matched by few neighboring currencies.