History·26 March 2026·4 min read
The shekel — from an ancient weight to a modern currency
The name of the shekel's newest form is among the oldest words for money in history.
"Shekel" was, in ancient Mesopotamia, a unit of weight for silver and barley — one of the oldest words connected to money. Today it is the modern currency of Israel.
A four-millennia-old word
From weighing silver 4,000 years ago to digital numbers in an app, the shekel links the oldest idea of money to today's world. Money changes; the need for it remains.
