The old Israeli shekel, then known as the shekel (, formally sheqel, . , Sheqalim; , šēkal, formerly , šēqal until 2014; code ) was the currency of the State of Israel between 24 February 1980 and 31 December 1985. It was replaced by the Israeli new shekel at a ratio of 1,000:1 on 1 January 1986. The old shekel was short-lived due to its hyperinflation. The old shekel was subdivided into 100 new agorot (). The shekel sign was although it was more commonly denominated as S or IS. The Israeli old shekel replaced the Israeli pound (IL), which had been used until 24 February 1980, at the rate of IS 1 shekel to IL10. History Development of a new currency to be known as the shekel (properly, sheqel) was approved by the Israeli Knesset on 4 June 1969. The governors of the Bank of Israel did not consider the time ripe until November 1977, when studies for its implementation began. Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Minister of Finance Simcha Erlich approved a proposal to redenominate the Israeli pound in May 1978; the proposal called for the currency to be exactly similar except for the removal of a zero from the inflated pound and agorot denominations. The shekel and new agora became legal tender on 22 February 1980 and went into circulation two days later. The official exchange rate at time of introduction was US$1 = IS 3.89 = IL38.88. Initial denominations were IS 1, IS 5, IS 10, and IS 50, but over the next five years inflation led to another five: IS 100, IS 500, IS 1,000, IS 5,000, and IS 10,000. New coin and bill designs were selected through competitions among graphic designers. Beginning with the IS 500 issue, the size of the notes was standardized () and the denominations differentiated by color and design. A transparent part was added to discourage counterfeiting and elements for the blind were added. Inflationary pressure did not ease. By the end of 1980, the shekel had already lost about half of its value (US$1 = IS 7.55). In 1981, the value of Israeli currency continued to fall, reaching IS 15.60 per U.S. dollar at the end of the year. At the end of 1982, the exchange rate was IS 33.65 = US$1 and was falling still. The following shows the official exchange rate of one U.S. dollar in specific