500 Pruta 1955, Israel
| in Krause book | Number: 24a |
| Years of issue: | 04.08.1955 |
| Edition: | -- |
| Signatures: | Governor of the Bank: Mr. David Horowitz; Chairman of the Advisory Council: Mr. S. Hoofien |
| Serie: | The first series of Israeli lira 1955 |
| Specimen of: | 04.08.1955 |
| Material: | Unknown material |
| Size (mm): | 130 x 72 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Seven-branched candelabrum with an imprint of Cyclamen persicum.
Avers:
Ruins of an ancient synagogue at Bir'am in Kfar Bar'am, Upper Galilee with old olive tree in front. Olives are lower (from left side till the stones).
Graduated students of primary school in Rishon Lezion near the ancient synagogue in the village of Kfar Bar'am, May 1949. On the left stand two residents of the village (from the blog by Moses Rimmer).
I put this picture on the website is not only because behind the student is exactly the synagogue, depicted on the banknote. Rather, because this photo was taken in May 1949 - about the time, when the first sketches of this series of Israeli Liras were transferred to "Thomas de la Rue".
During the years, many ancient Synagogues have been discovered in archaeological digs. Some synagogues have been destroyed and rebuilt several times.
One of the most ancient synagogues in Israel is located in Kfar Bar'am, an ancient Jewish village in the Galilee. The synagogue in Bar'am is the most beautiful old synagogue in Israel. The meaning of the Name Bar'am in Hebrew is "Son of the People".
The Synagogue was built during the Talmudic period. In 1522, Rabbi Moses Basula wrote that the synagogue belonged to Simeon bar Yochai.
The very well preserved façade has 3 beautifully carved doorways facing Jerusalem, the central of which is particularly grand. A second, smaller synagogue left practically no remains. Its lintel is on display in the Louvre in Paris.
The park also contains remains of the Maronite village of Bir‘am, whose inhabitants were required to leave by the Israel Defense Forces in 1948 for security reasons. The village church is still the spiritual center of that community. Near the synagogue is the Bar‘am oak forest, a reserve of impressively large Kermes oaks. (ETeacherHebrew)
In front of ancient synagogue is old olive tree (Olea europaea).
The olive (Olea europaea, meaning "oil of Europe") is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, found in much of Africa, the Mediterranean Basin from Portugal to the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and southern Asia as far east as China, as well as the Canary Islands, Mauritius and Réunion. The species is cultivated in many places and considered naturalized in Algeria, France (including Corsica), Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta, Croatia, Albania, Crimea, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Spain, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Java, Norfolk Island, California and Bermuda.
The olive's fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil. The tree and its fruit give their name to the plant family, which also includes species such as lilacs, jasmine, Forsythia and the true ash trees (Fraxinus). The word derives from Latin ŏlīva ("olive fruit", "olive tree"; "olive oil" is ŏlĕum) which is cognate with the Greek ἐλαία (elaía, "olive fruit", "olive tree") and ἔλαιον (élaion, "olive oil"). The oldest attested forms of the latter two words in Greek are respectively the Mycenaean e-ra-wa, and e-ra-wo or e-rai-wo, written in the Linear B syllabic script. The word "oil" in multiple languages ultimately derives from the name of this tree and its fruit. 
Also, in top right corner, is Cyclamen persicum (רקפת מצויה).
Cyclamen persicum, the Persian cyclamen, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to 1,200 m. (3,900 ft) above sea level, from south-central Turkey to Israel and Jordan. It also grows in Algeria and Tunisia and on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Crete, where it may have been introduced by monks. Cultivars of this species are the commonly seen florist's cyclamen.
The denomination "500 Pruta" and "Bank of Israel" in Hebrew.
Revers:
An abstract design; the denomination "500 Pruta" and "Bank of Israel" in Arabic and English.
Comments:
First own money the state of Israel. At the initiative of the first Governor of the Bank of Israel David Horowitz, and with the assistance of a special committee chaired by S.Hufien, developed the first series of Israeli banknotes. The Committee decided to use in the design of banknotes the Israeli landscapes. The design of banknotes was entrusted by the artists of TDLR (banknotes were printed at its factory).
Put into circulation on August 04, 1955.
Withdrawn March 31, 1984.
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