500 Mils, Bank Of Israel

ANGLO-PALESTINE BANK SERIES

The "Anglo-Palestine Bank" Banknotes were the first notes of the State of Israel. The series was issued by the Anglo-Palestine Bank under an accord signed by the bank with state institutions. It was evident that no printing house of high repute was willing to print money for a country that that did not yet exist. Only after hard persuasive efforts was Eliezer Siegfried Hoofien, chairman of the Anglo-Palestine Bank's Board of Directors, able to obtain the consent of the "American Banknote" Company in New York. To circumvent the need for approval by the United States Secretary of State to print foreign currency notes, the notes were not marked "legal tender". The words "legal currency to pay any amount" were later added in a separate printing. The "American Banknote" Company also avoided printing its name on the notes. Since the notes were ordered before the establishment of the State of Israel, before the name of the State and its currency had been determined, the banknote denomination remained the same as it was during the British Mandate period - Palestine Pound. The banknotes were brought to Israel secretly in July 1948. On August 17, 1948, a law was enacted according to which these bills became legal tender, and they were put into circulation.

Size: 148 X 72 mm.
Dominant colour: Grey-pink.
Front: Guilloches; the denomination "500 Mils" and "The Anglo-Palestine Bank Limited" in Hebrew and English.
Back: Guilloches; the denomination "Five Hundred Mils" and "The Anglo-Palestine Bank Limited" in Arabic and English.
Colour of numbering: Red.
Signatures: S. Hoofien, A. Barth.
Design: American Banknote Co., New York.
Date of issue: August 18, 1948.
Ceased to be legal tender: June 23, 1952.