100 Pruta

Israel's first coinage series, issued in 1949, was struck before the state had even established its own mint — production was contracted to the Kremnica Mint in Czechoslovakia and the Royal Mint in Britain. The 100 Pruta was the highest denomination in that inaugural series, and its relatively large size reflected an attempt to give the new currency physical credibility during a period of acute economic instability tied to the 1948 war and mass immigration.

A reeded-edge variety and a plain-edge variety both exist for this type, a distinction that catches collectors off guard more often than it should.