Israeli Pruta

The pruta served both as the Israeli pound's thousandth part and as the denomination for a varied series of early Israeli coins. The series comprised coins marked 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500 prutot, although the silver 500-pruta coin was produced for numismatists and did not circulate.[2] A 1959 currency reform replaced the division of 1,000 prutot to the pound with 100 agorot to the pound, and the new coins began entering circulation in 1960.[2][4]

When the State of Israel was established, British Mandate coins remained in circulation but became scarce.[5] Facing the shortage, the Treasury decided in August 1948 to begin minting coins.[2] While designs for a permanent series were being prepared, the government produced a temporary 25-mil coin, retaining the Mandate-era term "mil."[5] Issued on April 6, 1949, the aluminum coin bore a grape-cluster design derived from a coin of the Bar Kokhba War of 132–135 CE.[2][5]

From December 24, 1948, the Israeli pound was officially divided into 1,000 prutot, replacing the previous ratio of one pound to 1,000 mil that had applied from August 17, 1948.[1] The pruta thereby became the Hebrew name for the pound's thousandth part.[6] Contemporary accounts also describe a practical transition around 1950, when harder coin series supplanted the soft aluminum pieces of the early period.[6][3]

The changeover was phased rather than instantaneous. The first coin denominated in prutot, a 50-pruta piece, entered circulation on May 11, 1949. The 25-mil coin remained valid until September 6, 1950, when the wider pruta series entered use.[5][7]

The government requested designs for a new coin series from the Israel Numismatic Society. Leo Kadman and Hanan Pavel, working with graphic artist Otto Wallish, submitted proposals approved by Finance Minister Eliezer Kaplan, Israel's first finance minister.[8][7] The designs drew on ancient Jewish coinage, particularly coins of the Jewish War of 66–70 CE and the Bar Kokhba War, and used dates based on the Jewish year.[2]

Each coin displayed "Israel" in Hebrew and Arabic on one face. The value side gave the denomination and issue year, generally surrounded by stylized olive branches.[8] Designs included an anchor on the 1-pruta coin, a four-string lyre on the 5-pruta, a two-handled vessel on one version of the 10-pruta, a grape cluster on the 25-pruta, a grape leaf on the 50-pruta, and a date palm on the 100-pruta.[8]

Physical specifications differed by denomination. The 1-pruta coin, issued on October 25, 1950, measured 21 millimeters in diameter, weighed 1.3 grams, had a smooth edge, and consisted of 97% aluminum and 3% magnesium.[8] Until 1954, pruta coins were minted in Britain by the ICI Mint and The Mint, Birmingham. The Israel Mint was then established in Tel Aviv as a division of the government printer and gradually assumed responsibility for production.[2]

The series comprised eight denominations—1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500 prutot—and ran from 1949 to 1960.[2] Across those denominations, it included 25 types and numerous additional varieties.[2] Paper denominations supplemented the coins: banknote series included a 500-pruta note, while a 1952 paper-money series included a 250-pruta piece designed by the Shamir brothers and presented as a legal-tender proposal in the style of a banknote.[2][3]

Several coin denominations appeared in more than one material or size. The 10-pruta coin was produced in bronze and aluminum across four types, while the 100-pruta coin appeared in two sizes.[2] The 250-pruta coin was struck in cupro-nickel for general circulation and in silver for numismatists. The 500-pruta coin was produced only in silver for collectors and never entered actual circulation.[2]

An unusual wording error appeared on early coins: the 5-pruta and some 10-pruta pieces used the singular form "pruta" where the plural "prutot" was expected.[8] A later 10-pruta issue corrected the inscription, but no corrected version of the 5-pruta coin was produced. The surviving singular inscription consequently became a distinctive feature of that denomination.[8]

A law amending the Currency Order of 5719–1959 abolished the pruta and divided the Israeli pound into 100 agorot instead of 1,000 prutot.[2] Under the reform, 10 prutot were exchanged for one agora.[7] Coins from the new agora series began entering circulation on January 1, 1960.[4] The Academy of the Hebrew Language selected the name "agora" from a term appearing in I Samuel 2:36.[4]

By 1966, an official currency description listed pounds, or lirot, and agorot without including the pruta among the circulating denominations.[9] The Bank of Israel nevertheless lists February 22, 1980, as the cancellation date of the 1-pruta coin, long after the denomination had ceased ordinary circulation.[8]

The modern term echoed the ancient perutah, a small bronze denomination used in Jewish coinage during the Hasmonean and Herodian periods.[2] The pruta series also established a modern Israeli design program based on ancient Jewish symbols, including motifs from coins of the Jewish War and the Bar Kokhba War.[2] This visual connection between the modern state and earlier Jewish sovereignty continued through the agora and lira series and later appeared in shekel and new-shekel coinage.[3]