Catalog
50 Israel Pounds
| Issuer | Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1952-1954 |
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| In circulation to | 7 February 1961 |
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| Obverse description | Intricate guilloche underprint covers the face of the note, with the denomination and issuer legend in Hebrew script arranged across the central field. The text reads "Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M. will pay to the bearer Fifty Israel Pounds" above a further legal tender clause. The numeral "50" appears at the corners against the guilloche ground. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 50 בנק לאומי לישראל בע"מ ישלם למוכ"ז חמשים לירות ישראליות הבנק יקבל השטר הזה לשלם תשלום בכל חשבון שהוא מטבע חוקית לתשלום כל סכום שהוא (Translation: Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M. Will pay to the bearer Fifty Israel Pounds The bank will accept this note for payment in any account Legal tender for payment of any amount) |
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Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M. — the People's Bank, originally Anglo-Palestine Bank — was not a central bank but a commercial institution that briefly filled the issuing vacuum following Israeli independence in 1948. The State of Israel had no central bank until the Bank of Israel was established in 1954, so Bank Leumi held that function by default. This note belongs to the final years of that arrangement, issued under license from the government and denominated in the Israeli pound that had replaced the Palestine pound at par in 1952.
American Bank Note Company handled the print run, as it did for several other denominations in this series. At just over twelve million notes, the quantity was not insignificant — but the series was retired quickly once the Bank of Israel opened and began issuing its own currency in 1955.