Jewish money - Israeli ancient coins and money

The state of Israel has always tried to connect its coins and paper money to its roots. Ancient coins with Jewish emblems such as harps and menorahs have been found by archaeologists all over Israel. The designs of current Israeli coins maintains this tradition. During the War of 1948 the then Israeli pound had a generic design but by the mid 1950s the notes bore pictures of Israeli flowers and landscapes. The popular name of the pound was lira and the lesser monetary units equivalent to cents were called pruta as known in the Talmud. In the 1970s the government changed the monetary system to shekels, the name for currency in ancient Israel and the lesser monetary units to agurot featuring prominent Jewish and Israeli personalities such as Albert Einstein, Theodor Herzl, Maimonides and Moses Montefiore. The most recent change was in 1999 when the new series was introduced with pictures of Israeli presidents. This Jewish history moment was brought to you by Israel National Radio.