50 ILS #645

Front

The Golden Gate (Sha'ar HaRachamim) in the eastern wall of Jerusalem's Old City. Also known as the Gate of Mercy, this ancient sealed gate dates to the Byzantine period (possibly 6th–7th century CE) and faces the Mount of Olives. It has been sealed since the 16th century and holds religious significance in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. The detailed engraving shows the distinctive double-arched Romanesque façade with its decorated stonework.

Back

David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), primary founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, serving 1948–1954 and 1955–1963. Born David Grün in Płońsk, Poland, he immigrated to Ottoman Palestine in 1906, became a leading Zionist labour movement figure, proclaimed Israeli independence in 1948, and led the new state through its formative years. Behind his portrait is a view of his desert home at Sde Boker in the Negev, where he retired to promote desert development and died.

History

This note belongs to the 1978 Issue series of the Israeli Shekel (Old Shekel), printed between 1978–1980 and circulated until the currency reform of 1985. The Old Shekel replaced the Israeli Lira (Pound) at a rate of 10 Lirot = 1 Shekel in February 1980, but this note was printed in 1978 in preparation for the changeover. Hyperinflation in the early 1980s rendered the Old Shekel worthless, and it was replaced by the New Israeli Shekel in September 1985 at a rate of 1,000:1. The note features signatures of Bank of Israel Governor Arnon Gafny (served 1976–1981) and Chief Cashier David Hacohen. Ben-Gurion appears on multiple denominations in this series, reflecting his status as the founding father of modern Israel. The architectural motifs emphasize Jerusalem's centrality to Israeli national identity.