Israel introduced a two-shekel coin.
The coin, which is about the size of an American nickel, came off the Bank of Israel’s mint Sunday as part of a drive to reduce transaction costs incurred to businesses by having to handle large amounts of one-shekel coins.
The two-shekel coin has a picture of a pomegranate flanked by two cornucopias, a symbol used on currency during the reign of the Hasmonean King John Hyrcanus in the second century BCE.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.