How can an historical online calculator assist today?
When reading texts quoting obsolete currencies, particularly those used in Ottoman and British Palestine and in the early years of the State of Israel, historians are frequently uncertain about the relative value or purchasing power of these once legal tenders and how to interpret this across different historical periods.
This issue also has practical implications, such as verifying sums in obsolete currencies in agreements still relevant today, as well as for current laws referencing these currencies.
While the Israeli CBS offers a formal calculator for values from 1951 onward, our historical currency calculator enables conversions from as early as 1841.
Access our calculator - here.
For more information, see Dr. Amos Nadan's essay, "Discourses on outdated but still valid currencies in Israel, from the Egyptian withdrawal in 1841 to 2023."