Israel Introduces Blue Money worth 200 Shekels

Israel has replaced a president with a poet and has changed from red to blue for its new 200-shekel banknote launched on Wednesday.

The new bill, worth 51.36 cents at today's dollar-shekel rate, is blue and bears a portrait of poet Nathan Alterman.

Its predecessor was a red-colored banknote with a portrait of former President Zalman Shazar and remains in circulation for several years.

Another change in the notes that is of more interest to counterfeiters is that the new 200-shekel bill has features that are aimed at making it more difficult to produce imitations.

The new bill also is made so that blind people can feel the difference between it and other banknotes.