Coins and Banknotes of Palestine
The legal framework
governing the legal tender coins for the British Mandate of Palestine was initiated by the
1927 Palestine Currency Order. A memorandum relating to the new currency arrangement was
published on March 1, 1927 by the Palestine government in its official gazette. The
Currency Notes Ordinance 1927 was then passed in Palestine constituting as legal tender
the currency that was to be issued by the Palestine Currency Board. The Order specified
that the standard of currency for Palestine was to be the Palestine pound, divided into
one thousand mils. This was similar to the decimal system in Egypt, based on 100 piastres
to the Egyptian pound, and unlike the typical British non-decimal currency system where 12
pence (d) equaled 1 shilling (s); 20 shillings equaled 1 pound (£) sterling. As required
by Article 22 of the Mandate's charter from the League of Nations, it was necessary to
show the name "Palestine" in three languages: English, Arabic and Hebrew.
Coins
The Palestine
Currency Board, after consulting with the Mandatory government officials, decided that the
coins should be in the denominations of 1 and 2 mils (bronze), 5, 10, and 20 mils
(nickel-bronze with center hole), and 50 and 100 mils (silver with reeded, or milled
edges). For the two highest denominations, the Board adopted, with the approval of the
Secretary of State for the Colonies, an alloy of 720 parts silver and 280 parts copper.
Although a gold coin equal to £1 was provided for in the Currency Order in a silver/gold
ratio of 10.5:1, none were ever minted. From their initial
introduction on the eve on the tenth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration (November 1,
1927), the coins were minted as needed to meet public demands. Unlike the United States
for example, coins were not struck with all the possible year dates from 1927 to the
termination of the Mandate in 1948. In all, there were 59 different combinations of dates
and denominations comprising the entire range of regularly issued coinage. The 1947-dated
coins, which were not officially released for circulation, are not part of the total
number accepted by collectors as to what constitutes a complete set of coins. After the
termination of the Palestine Mandate and the creation of the State of Israel on May 14,
1948, the coins issued by the Palestine Currency Board remained legal tender in Israel
until September 15, 1948; in the Gaza Strip region of Egypt until June 9, 1951; and in
Jordan until June 30, 1951. Beyond these dates, the coins were demonetized.
For each denomination, both the
obverse and reverse can be seen by selecting the desired coin.
Banknotes
The Palestine
Currency Board was appointed in 1926 by the British Secretary of State for the Colonies,
and was in charge of the introduction and control of currency in Palestine under the
British Mandate. The activities of the this board, completely independent of local
government, were confined to the issue of currency banknotes which were backed by an
equivalent amount of Sterling in London. On February 7, 1927, The Palestine Currency Order
created the Palestine pound which was divided into 1000 mils. The 1927 Currency Order
specified that banknotes be issued in denominations of 500 mils, £P1, £P5, £P10, £P50,
and £P100. These banknotes were issued from November 1, 1927 on the eve of the tenth
anniversary of the Balfour Declaration until the termination of the mandate in 1948, when
over 59 billion Palestine pounds were in circulation. In all, there are 22
denomination-date combinations possible for collectors. The banknotes were printed by the
London firm of Thomas de la Rue and Company, Limited in one litho-tint and two direct
plate workings. Each denomination was set forth, both in figures and words, in trilingual
legends and inscriptions in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. From their original
issue of September 1, 1927, banknotes of the Palestine Currency Board were legal tender in
Israel until September 15, 1948, even though the State of Israel was formed four months
earlier on May 14. Beyond September 15, all banknotes were to be redeemed for an
equivalent amount in British pounds. Besides Israel, the banknotes were legal tender in
Egypt (Gaza Strip) until June 9, 1951 and in Trans Jordan until September 30, 1950.
Source: Book: The Coins and Banknotes of Palestine
Under the British Mandate, 1927–1947 , by: Howard M. Berlin |
