The lira ( mt, lira Maltija, plural: ''liri'',
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...
code: ''MTL'') or pound (until ca. 1986 in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, code ) was the currency of
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 ...
from 1972 until 31 December 2007. One lira was divided into 100 cents, each of 10 mils. After 1986 the lira was abbreviated as Lm, although the original sign continued to be used unofficially. In English the currency was still frequently called the ''
pound'' even after its official English language name was changed to ''lira''.
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 . ...
replaced the lira as the official currency of
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 ...
on 1 January 2008 at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of €1 per Lm 0.4293.
History
Sterling
In 1825, an imperial order-in-council introduced
sterling coin to Malta, replacing a system under which various coinages circulated, including that issued in Malta by the
Knights of St John
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...
. The pound was valued at 12 ''
scudi
The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''scu ...
'' of the local currency. This exchange rate meant that the smallest Maltese coin, the ''grano'', was worth one third of a
farthing
Farthing or farthings may refer to:
Coinage
*Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny
** Half farthing (British coin)
** Third farthing (British coin)
** Quarter farthing (British coin)
*Farthing (English coi ...
(1 scudo = 20 tari = 240 grani). Consequently,
-farthing (-penny) coins were issued for use in Malta until 1913, alongside the regular sterling coinage. Amongst the British colonies which used sterling coinage, Malta was unique in issuing a -farthing coin.
Between 1914 and 1918, wartime emergency paper money issues were made by the government.
Until 1972, the pound was divided into 20
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 ...
s, each of 12
pence
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
with 4
farthing
Farthing or farthings may refer to:
Coinage
*Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny
** Half farthing (British coin)
** Third farthing (British coin)
** Quarter farthing (British coin)
*Farthing (English coi ...
s to the penny; from May 1972 it was decimalised into 100 cents, and each cent into 10 mils.
Pre-decimal sterling coinage continued to circulate in Malta for nearly a year after it was withdrawn in the UK due to decimalisation as Malta did not decimalise until 1972. The Maltese pound was initially equal to the sterling unit, however this parity did not survive long after the floating of sterling on 22 June 1972.
Banknotes
Emergency issues between 1914 and 1918 were in denominations of 5 and 10 shillings, £1, £5 and £10. In 1940, notes dated 13 September 1939 in denominations of
2/6,
5/–, 10/– and £1 were issued, followed late in the year by a provisional 1/– note overprinted on old 2/– notes dated 20 November 1918.
Note production continued after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in denominations of 10/- and £1, with £5 notes reintroduced between 1961 and 1963.
After the
Central Bank of Malta
The Central Bank of Malta ( mt, Bank Ċentrali ta’ Malta) is the central bank of the Republic of Malta. It was established on 17 April 1968. In May 2004, when Malta joined the European Union, it became an integral part of the European Syste ...
was established by the Central Bank Act of 1967 and began operating on April 17, 1968,
the issuing body named on the banknotes switched from "Government of Malta" to "Central Bank of Malta." While the designs of the notes remained unchanged, the colors were changed. The Central Bank refers to this series as the "CBM first series". The CBM second series began with the introduction of lira-denominated notes on January 15, 1973.
Lira
Banknotes issued by the
Government of Malta
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and then by the
Central Bank of Malta
The Central Bank of Malta ( mt, Bank Ċentrali ta’ Malta) is the central bank of the Republic of Malta. It was established on 17 April 1968. In May 2004, when Malta joined the European Union, it became an integral part of the European Syste ...
were written in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
up to 1972. From 1973 to 1985, they were written in
Maltese on the obverse (with the currency identified as "lira"), and in English on the reverse (identifying the currency as ''pound''). From 1986 to 2007, Maltese was used on both sides.
Although exclusively using British coins at that time, Malta did not
decimalise with the
UK in 1971. Instead, decimalisation occurred a year later, on the "
pound and mil" system, dividing the pound into 1,000
mils and 100
cent
Cent may refer to:
Currency
* Cent (currency), a one-hundredth subdivision of several units of currency
* Penny (Canadian coin), a Canadian coin removed from circulation in 2013
* 1 cent (Dutch coin), a Dutch coin minted between 1941 and 1944
* ...
s. The Maltese name "lira" and the English name "pound" were used concurrently on banknotes until 1986, when "lira" became the official name of the currency in both languages. Mil denominated coins were removed from circulation in 1994.
On entry into the European Union, Malta agreed to adopt the euro. The lira was replaced by 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 . ...
on 1 January 2008, as part of the
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
The economic and monetary union (EMU) of the European Union is a group of policies aimed at converging the economies of member states of the European Union at three stages.
There are three stages of the EMU, each of which consists of progr ...
.
Euro changeover
The Maltese lira was replaced by 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 . ...
as the official currency of
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 ...
at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of Lm 0.429300 per €1.
However, Maltese lira banknotes and coins continued to have
legal tender
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 ...
status and were accepted for cash payments until 31 January 2008. Maltese lira were convertible free of charge at all Maltese credit institutions until 30 March 2008.
Maltese coins were convertible at the
Central Bank of Malta
The Central Bank of Malta ( mt, Bank Ċentrali ta’ Malta) is the central bank of the Republic of Malta. It was established on 17 April 1968. In May 2004, when Malta joined the European Union, it became an integral part of the European Syste ...
until 1 February 2010, and banknotes remained convertible until 31 January 2018.
Exchange rate
Maltese currency was considered a local issue of
sterling rather than an entirely separate currency until 13 December 1971 and thus was maintained at an exact 1:1 equivalence with sterling's pound; afterwards the currency was allowed to float, anchored to a basket of
reserve currencies. The lira had subsequently been worth around £1.60 stg. After the
Kuwaiti dinar
The Kuwaiti dinar ( ar, دينار كويتي, code: KWD) is the currency of Kuwait. It is sub-divided into 1,000 fils.
As of 2022, the Kuwaiti dinar is the currency with the highest value per base unit, with KD 1 equalling US$3.32, ahead ...
, it was the second-highest-valued currency unit in the world, being worth US$3.1596 as of 28 April 2007. After the dollar weakened against other currencies in mid-2006, the lira was worth US$3.35289 as of 16 December 2007.
The currency entered the
ERM II
The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro (replacing ERM 1 and the euro's predecessor, the ECU) as ...
on 2 May 2005, by which its value had to be maintained within a 15% band around the central parity rate of Lm 0.429300 per euro. The Central Bank of Malta and Maltese Government unilaterally decided to keep the actual Lm/€ exchange rate equal to the central parity rate (i.e., doing away with the 15% band) throughout the ERM II period.
The irrevocable fixed conversion rate was established by the
ECOFIN
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) is one of the oldest configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the economics and finance ministers of the 27 European Union member states, as well as Budget Minist ...
on 10 July 2007, at Lm 0.4293 to one euro.
Coins
Decimal coinage was introduced in 1972 (one year after the United Kingdom) based on the "pound and mil" system proposed in 1855 by
Sir William Brown MP in denominations of 2, 3, and 5 mils, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 50 cents. There was no one-mil coin, although, the coins that were provided (2m, 3m, and 5m) allowed goods to be priced (and change given) for any number of mils. In 1975, a 25c coin was introduced.
A new coinage was issued in 1986 in denominations of 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 25c and 50c and Lm 1. A third series was introduced in 1991 due to the change in
Malta's coat of arms. The mils were withdrawn in 1994, although for some time only the 5 mils had been seen (and then only rarely).
Banknotes
On 15 January 1973,
banknotes were introduced, denominated in liri on the obverse and pounds on the reverse, in denominations of £M 1, £M 5 and £M 10. In 1986, £M1 notes were replaced by coins and Lm 2 and Lm 20 notes were introduced.
Banknotes of the fourth series were:
Banknotes in circulation at the time of the introduction of the euro were:
See also
* Other currencies or coins named
lira
Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...
*
*
Maltese euro coins
Maltese euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. Malta has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004, and is a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. Malta adopted the euro as its ...
*
Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Malta)
Euro gold and silver commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone, mainly in gold and silver, although other metals are also used on rare occasions. Malta introduced the euro (€) on 1 January 200 ...
*
Economy of Malta
The economy of Malta is a highly industrialised, service-based economy. It is classified as an Developed country, advanced economy by the International Monetary Fund and is considered a Developed country, high-income country by the World Bank a ...
References
External links
Historical banknotes of Malta
{{Portal bar, Europe, Malta, Money, Numismatics
Currencies of the British Empire
Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations
Currencies of Europe
Lira, Maltese
Currencies replaced by the euro
Modern obsolete currencies
1972 establishments in Malta
2007 disestablishments in Malta
History of Malta
Currency symbols