Shekel, also rendered sheqel, refers to one of many ancient units of weight and currency. The first known usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. The Shekel was originally derived from weight of 180 grains (one grain weighs about 0.047 grams). The earliest shekels were money, but they were used for trading before coins. A coin is money that is stamped with an official seal to to certify its weight. Coins were invented by the early traders who stamped their own marks so that they would not have to weigh it again each time it was used. Later the stamping was taken over by offical authorities who designed the coins. (Detroit Institute of Arts, 1964)

The plural can be shekels, sheqels or sheqalim (the latter being the plural in Hebrew). In some regions of the United States, the term is used informally for "money," particularly in situations where value is an important consideration.

It most commonly refers to an ancient Hebrew unit of weight. As with many ancient units, the shekel represented a variety of values depending on date, domain and region. Sources quote weights between 9 and 17 grams and values of 11, 14, and 17 grams are common. It can be a gold or silver coin equal in weight to one of these units, especially the chief silver coin of the Hebrews.

The shekel was commonly used among other western Semitic peoples as well. Moabites, Edomites and Canaanites (also known as Phoenicians) all used the shekel, the latter as coinage as well as for a unit of weight. Punic coinage was based on the shekel, a heritage from their Canaanite ancestors.

Silver Tyrian shekels are thought to be the infamous "30 pieces of silver" in the New Testament.

Since 1980, the sheqel has been the currency of the modern state of Israel, first the Israeli sheqel, then (since 1985) the Israeli new sheqel. As of May 3, 2006, 1 US Dollar equals approximately 4.49 NIS (New Israeli Shekel, also referred to as ILS), 1 Euro equals approximately 5.66 NIS, and 1 pound sterling equals approximately 8.22 NIS. There are 100 agorot to a shekel.

The shekel is also a unit of measurement in New Crobuzon, the setting of China Mieville's Bas-Lag series, and the nickname of one of the main characters in The Scar.

References

See also

• History of currency
• Israeli new sheqel
• Israeli pound

Currencies of Israel | Hebrew words | Units of mass

Sicle | Schekel | Shekel | Novo Sheqel | שקל | Siclo | Sjekel | Szekel | Novo sheqel israelense | Шекель | Shekel | ניי-שקל