50 Pruta Emergency Fractional Issue

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replaced the entire pruta-denominated series with the new agora system in 1960, and most of these small notes were withdrawn and destroyed rather than worn out through use.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.