MY COLLECTION - ALBUM NO 8 - WEST ASIA - ISRAEL, LEBANON & QATAR COINS

CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY
C/O COL GKS REDDY

Secunderabad - 500 015.


Israel Currency.

        The Israeli new shekel (help·info) (Hebrew: שֶׁקֶל חָדָשׁ Shekel H̱adash) (sign: ₪; acronym: ש״ח and in English NIS; code: ILS) (pl.sheqalim – שְׁקָלִים; شيقل جديد šēqel ǧadīd) is the currency of the State of Israel. The shekel consists of 100 agorot (אֲגוֹרוֹת) (sing. agora,אֲגוֹרָה). Denominations made in this currency are marked with the shekel sign, ₪. The Israeli new shekel has been in use since 1 January 1986 when it replaced the old shekel that was in usage between 24 February 1980 and 31 December 1985, at a ratio of 1000:1. The authoritative spelling on Israeli coins and banknotes is new sheqel, pl. new sheqalim, though the spelling shekel is also commonly used.

History

          The Israeli lira, followed by the old shekel, experienced frequent devaluations against the US dollar and other foreign currencies, starting in the early 1960s and accelerating from the mid-1970s. This trend culminated in the old shekel suffering from hyperinflationin the early 1980s. After inflation was contained as a result of the 1985 Economic Stabilization Plan, the new shekel was introduced,replacing the old shekel on 1 January 1986, at a rate of 1,000 old sheqalim = 1 new shekel.

        Since the economic crisis of the 1980s and introduction of the New Shekel, the Bank of Israel and the government of Israel have maintained much more careful and conservative fiscal and monetary policies, and have gradually introduced various market-based economic reforms. In addition, the signing of free trade agreements helped the Israeli economy become more competitive, while heavy investment in its industrial and scientific base allowed the country to take advantage of opportunities associated with the rise of the global knowledge economy, thus greatly increasing exports and opening new markets for its products and services. As a result of these factors, inflation has been relatively low and the country now maintains a positive balance of payments (equivalent to about 3% of its GDP in 2010). Consequently, its currency has strengthened considerably, rising approximately 20% in value relative to the US dollar in the 2000s (decade), thereby reversing the trend of historical weakness the Israeli currency exhibited in the decades prior. In the future, the exploitation of recently discovered natural gas reserves off the Israeli coastline that is expected to begin in the mid-2010s decade and onwards may serve to further strengthen the Israeli currency.

         Since 1 January 2003, the shekel has been a freely convertible currency. Since 7 May 2006, shekel derivative trading has also been available on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This makes the shekel one of only twenty or so world currencies for which there are widely available currency futures contracts in the foreign exchange market. It is also a currency that can be exchanged by consumers in many parts of the world.

     On 26 May 2008, CLS Bank International announced that it would settle payment instructions in Israeli New shekel, making the currency fully convertible.

My collection of Israeli Coins

Five Agorot - Israel - Aluminium Bronze - 1985

Ten Agorot - Israel - Aluminium Bronze - 1985

Half New Sheqel - Israel - Aluminium Bronze - 1985

Five New Sheqalim - Israel - Nickel - 1990

Ten New Sheqalim - Israel - Bi-Metallic - 1995

Lebanon Currency

          The Lebanese pound (Arabic: lira; French: livre; ISO 4217: LBP) is the currency unit of Lebanon. It is divided into 100 piastres butinflation has eliminated the subdivisions. 

The plural form of lira, as used on the currency, is either lirat (ليرات) or the same, whilst there are four forms for qirsh: the dual qirshan(قرشان), the plural qirush (قروش) used with numbers 3-10, the accusative singular qirsha (قرشا) used with 11-99, or the genitive singularqirshi (قرش) used with multiples of 100. In both cases, the number determines which plural form is used. Note that before the Second World War, the Arabic spelling of the subdivision was غرش (girsh). All of Lebanon's coins and banknotes are bilingual in Arabic and French.

History

          Before World War I, the Ottoman lira was used. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the currency became the Egyptian pound in 1918. Upon gaining control of Syria and Lebanon, the French replaced the Egyptian pound with a new currency for Syria and Lebanon, the Syrian pound, which was linked to the French franc at a value of 1 pound = 20 francs. Lebanon issued its own coins from 1924 and banknotes from 1925. In 1939, the Lebanese currency was officially separated from that of Syria, though it was still linked to the French franc and remained interchangeable with Syrian money. In 1941, following France's defeat by Nazi Germany, the currency was linked instead to the British pound sterling at a rate of 8.83 Lebanese pounds = 1 pound sterling. A link to the French franc was  restored after the war but was abandoned in 1949.

         Before the Lebanese Civil War, 1 U.S. dollar was worth 3 pounds. During the civil war the value decreased rapidly until 1992, when one dollar was worth over 2500 pounds. Subsequently the value increased again and since December 1997 the rate of the pound has been fixed at 1507.5 pounds per US$.

My Collection of Lebanese Coins

Ten Piasters - Lebanon - Brass - 1969

25 Piasters - Lebanon - Brass - 1952

25 Livres - Lebanon - Steel - 2002

50 Livres - Lebanon - Steel - 1996

100 Livres - Lebanon - Steel - 2003

250 Livres - Lebanon - Yellow Metal - 1995

500 Livres - Lebanon - Steel - 1995

Qatar Currency

          The riyal (Arabic: ريال riyāl; ISO 4217 code: QAR) is the currency of the State of Qatar. It is divided into 100 dirham (Arabic: درهم‎) and is abbreviated as either QR (English) or ر.ق (Arabic).

History

        Until 1966, Qatar used the Indian rupee as currency, in the form of Gulf rupees. When India devalued the rupee in 1966, Qatar, along with the other states using the Gulf rupee, chose to introduce its own currency. Before doing so, Qatar briefly adopted theSaudi riyal, then introduced the Qatar and Dubai riyal which was the result of signing the Qatar-Dubai Currency Agreement on 21 March 1966. The Saudi riyal was worth 1.065 rupees, whilst the Qatar and Dubai riyal was equal to the rupee prior to its devaluation.

        Following Dubai's entrance into the United Arab Emirates, Qatar began issuing the Qatari riyal separate from Dubai on 19 May 1973. The old notes continued to circulate in parallel for 90 days, at which time they were withdrawn. 

My Collection of Qatar Coins

Five Dirhems – Qatar - Copper - 1978

25 Dirhems - Qatar - Nickel - 1993

Fifty Dirhems – Qatar - National Arms - Nickel - 2008

Fifty Dirhems – Qatar - Nickel - AH 1407

Note - Some of the images of coins in my collection, have been taken from the Gallery to the extent available, to save on time & effort involved in photography & editing.