250 Pruta

Israel's 1949 coinage series was issued just months after independence, with the new state still fighting its War of Independence when dies were being prepared. The 250 Pruta was among the highest-denomination coins in that first series, filling a gap while the young government lacked the infrastructure for higher-value notes in small circulation. Production was contracted to the ICI mint in Birmingham — Israel had no functioning mint of its own.

The pruta system itself was short-lived, replaced by the Israeli pound subdivisions within a few years of heavy inflation.