Catalog
50 Pruta Emergency Fractional Issue
| Issuer | Government of Israel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1952 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The face is dominated by intricate guilloche patterns forming a decorative underprint across the entire field. The denomination numeral '50' appears centrally, flanked by the issuer name 'State of Israel' rendered in both Hebrew and Arabic script. A legal tender declaration in Hebrew is also present. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 50 |
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| Comments |
Israel's early fractional notes were issued partly because coin production couldn't keep pace with the demands of a rapidly expanding population — mass immigration in the early statehood years created persistent shortages of small change. The 50 Pruta note was a stopgap, never intended as a permanent fixture of the currency system.
The pruta itself was short-lived. Israel replaced the entire pruta-denominated series with the new agora system in 1960, and most of these small notes were withdrawn and destroyed rather than worn out through use. Survivors in circulated grades are therefore not as common as the issue volume might suggest.