Interesting!

funny how Israelis can make radars & UAV's but they can't mint their own currency...

My guess is that they have the capability, if they need to do it, but they don't want the treasures of their economy produced so close to their enemies.

Slight correction-- it's the New Israeli Shekel (NIS), not the INS.

As for having treasures being close to the enemy, I don't think a nation's coin supply is anything to really be concerned about. It's only a small portion of a country's wealth, and it's so vastly dispersed that enemy access isn't really a concern (unlike, say access to the people using that money). Like many countries that outsource the printing of paper currency, I'm sure that it's just a simple matter of outsourcing being cheaper than domestic production.

holterbarbour wrote:
Slight correction-- it's the New Israeli Shekel (NIS), not the INS.

D'oh!
Thanks.
Fixed.

And it was a stupid mistake on my part since I was looking right at the abbreviation NIS as I was typing that. I guess having spent the past three years hiding out from La Migra is really taking a toll on me.

As for having treasures being close to the enemy, I don't think a nation's coin supply is anything to really be concerned about. It's only a small portion of a country's wealth, and it's so vastly dispersed that enemy access isn't really a concern (unlike, say access to the people using that money). Like many countries that outsource the printing of paper currency, I'm sure that it's just a simple matter of outsourcing being cheaper

I prefer my explanation because it makes better fodder for spy novels.