10 Israeli Old Shekel Banknote (1978 To 1984 Issue)

10 Sheqalim Sheqel (Issued 1978)

Few banknotes communicate a nation’s founding ideals as directly as Israel’s 1978 ten sheqalim note, which places the father of modern Zionism at its centre alongside the very institution built to realise his vision. Issued under the Bank of Israel series, this note bridges intellectual heritage and political reality, honouring the dream of a Jewish homeland through portraiture and architecture simultaneously. It was later overstamped during the 1980 Sheqel Reform as Israel restructured its currency system, giving this particular issue a dual historical identity. The note stands as a document of a young nation consolidating its identity through the iconography of its paper money.

On the front, the dominant feature is an engraved portrait of Theodor Herzl, the Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and political activist widely regarded as the founder of modern Zionism, rendered in fine intaglio engraving in dark blue-grey tones. Herzl is depicted from approximately the chest upward, facing slightly to the right, with his distinctive full dark beard and formal attire of the late nineteenth century clearly visible. Behind the portrait, rendered in lighter blue tones and receding into the background, is a depiction of the Knesset building — Israel’s parliament — its long colonnaded façade and stone construction clearly identifiable. The overall colour palette of the front is composed of cool blue and grey-blue tones, with fine guilloché patterning forming a subtle geometric field across the background of the note. To the upper centre, the denomination is stated in Hebrew script as עשרה שקלים, with the numeral 10 appearing in the upper left and upper right corners. The issuing authority, בנק ישראל (Bank of Israel), is printed in bold Hebrew lettering along the lower centre, with the year 1978 appearing in Hebrew numerals beneath it. To the lower left, two cursive signatures appear alongside small Hebrew text identifying the signatories’ titles — the Governor and a second senior official of the Bank of Israel.

The reverse presents a detailed architectural engraving of the Jaffa Gate, one of the principal entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem, depicted in warm stone tones of ochre, pale green, and grey-blue. The massive ashlar stonework of the Ottoman-era gate and its surrounding city walls dominates the composition, with the arched entrance and its ornamental stonework clearly visible at the centre of the structure. Crenellations run along the top of the walls, and the texture of the individual stone blocks is rendered with considerable engraving detail. The serial number 6182837343 appears twice — once in the upper left area and once in the lower right — printed in dark numerals. To the upper portion of the note, בנק ישראל appears in Hebrew script on the left, with the numeral 10 to the upper right. Along the left edge, the bank name appears vertically in Arabic script. At the lower centre, the text BANK OF ISRAEL is printed in Roman lettering. A small diamond-shaped numeral 1 mark appears near the lower right edge. Fine horizontal wave patterning fills the background fields of the reverse, providing texture and a degree of visual security across the pale ground.

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• Indicate the quantity of 10 Sheqalim Sheqel banknotes you want to exchange
• Click the ‘Add to your account’ button
• Your online account now shows the exchange value

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Other Israeli Old Sheqalim you can exchange: 1, 5, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10000.