Coins of the Maltese lira have been struck from when

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

adopted

decimal currency Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

in 1972, to 2007, after which Malta adopted the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. There were 10 mils in one cent, and 100 cents in one

Maltese lira The lira ( mt, lira Maltija, plural: ''liri'', ISO 4217 code: ''MTL'') or pound (until ca. 1986 in English, code ) was the currency of Malta from 1972 until 31 December 2007. One lira was divided into 100 cents, each of 10 mils. After 1986 th ...

First series (1972–1982)

The coins in this series replaced the pre-decimal Pound Sterling which had been in use in Malta since 1825. Therefore, the sizes for some coins were similar to their pre-decimal equivalents, for example the 5c was similar to the

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

and the 10c to the two shillings. These coins were designed by

Christopher Ironside Christopher Ironside OBE, FRBS (11 July 1913, London – 13 July 1992, Winchester, Hampshire) was an English painter and coin designer, particularly known for the reverse sides of the new British coins issued on decimalisation in 1971. Life ...

OBE. In June 1975 an

octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

al 25 cent coin was introduced to commemorate Malta becoming a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

within the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

on 13 December 1974. The new

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

appeared on the obverse side, and the 25c coin was the first coin to depict the new republican emblem.

Second series (1986–2007)

A new series was issued on 19 May 1986, which consisted of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 cents and 1 lira, all depicting local flora and fauna on the obverse and the republican emblem on the reverse. The 1 lira coin was introduced in this series, replacing a former banknote.The Coinage of Malta – The Central Bank of Malta
In 1988 a new coat of arms was adopted showing a heraldic representation of the

Maltese flag The flag of Malta ( mt, Bandiera ta' Malta) is a bicolour, with white in the hoist and red in the fly. A representation of the George Cross, awarded to Malta by George VI in 1942, is carried, edged with red, in the canton of the white stripe. ...

, a mural crown and a wreath of olive and palm trees. The coin series of 1991 depicted the new coat of arms, but the reverse side remained the same. File:Emblem of Malta (1975–1988).svg, 1986 File:Coat of arms of Malta.svg, 1991-2007 This series remained in use until 2007, being withdrawn in January 2008 upon the introduction of the

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. They were

demonetised Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in pa ...

in 2010.

References

Coins of Malta Currencies of Malta

{{Malta-stub