The lira (, plural: ''lire'', abbreviation: MAL), officially known as the Military Authority Lira, was the currency of the British zone of occupation (later Mandate Territory) in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

between 1943 and 1951, and of the province of

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

until early 1952. It was issued by the ''Military Authority in

'' and circulated together with the

Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

at par. This situation reflected that of Italy, where the AM-lira was minted by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The Tripolitanian and the Italian lira were replaced in early 1952 by the Libyan pound at a rate of £L1 = 480 MAL.Libya: Kingdom regional issues (1951-1969).
Revenue Reverend, 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2014.

Paper money

No coins were issued for this currency, with old Italian coins still circulating, although heavily devalued. The 50 centesimo piece for example was worth just a quarter of a penny. Notes were issued in denominations of 1 lira and 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 lire. Stamp UK Tripolitania 1950 10mal.jpg, 1950 Tripolitanian stamp denominated "10 M.A.L." Stamp Libya 1951 1MAL.jpg, 1951 Libyan stamp denominated "1 MAL."

References

Modern obsolete currencies History of Tripolitania 1943 establishments in Libya 1951 disestablishments in Libya Currencies of Libya Pound (currency) {{Money-unit-stub