Currency of Malta from 1825 to 2007
Maltese lira
|
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|
|
Maltese banknotes
| Maltese coins
|
|
|
Code
| MTL
until June 1983: MTP, Maltese pound
|
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|
Plural
| liri
|
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Symbol
| £M
and Lm
|
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|
Subunit
| |
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1
⁄
100
| cent
(c)
|
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1
⁄
1000
| mill
(m)
|
---|
Banknotes
| Lm 2, Lm 5, Lm 10, Lm 20
|
---|
Coins
| |
---|
Freq. used
| 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 25c, 50c, Lm 1
|
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|
User(s)
| None, previously:
Malta
|
---|
|
Central bank
| Central Bank of Malta
|
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Website
| www
.centralbankmalta
.com
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|
Inflation
| 2.8%
|
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Source
| The World Factbook
, 2006 est.
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|
Since
| 2 May 2005
|
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Fixed rate since
| 2 May 2005
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Replaced by euro, non cash
| 1 January 2008
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Replaced by euro, cash
| 31 January 2008
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1 €
=
| Lm 0.429300
|
---|
Band
| pegged in practice, 15%
de jure
|
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This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.
|
The
lira
(
Maltese
:
lira Maltija
, plural:
liri
,
ISO 4217
code:
MTL
) or
pound
(until ca. 1986 in
English
, code
MTP
) was the currency of
Malta
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
£M
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
replaced the lira as the official currency of
Malta
on 1 January 2008 at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of €1 per Lm 0.4293, or approximately €2.33 per Lm 1.
History
[
edit
]
Sterling
[
edit
]
In 1825, an imperial order-in-council introduced
sterling coinage
to Malta, replacing a system under which various coinages circulated, including that issued in Malta by the
Knights of St John
. The pound was valued at 12
scudi
of the local currency. This exchange rate meant that the smallest Maltese coin, the
grano
, was worth one third of a
farthing
(1 scudo = 20 tari = 240 grani). Consequently,
1
⁄
3
-farthing (
1
⁄
12
-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
1
⁄
3
-farthing coin.
Between 1914 and 1918, wartime emergency paper money issues were made by the government.
Until 1972, the pound was divided into 20
shillings
, each of 12
pence
with 4
farthings
to the penny; from May 1972 it was decimalised into 100 cents, and each cent into 10 mils.
[1]
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. Although the Maltese pound was initially equal to its sterling counterpart, this parity did not survive long after the floating of sterling on 22 June 1972.
Banknotes
[
edit
]
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.
[2]
Note production continued after the
Second World War
in denominations of 10/- and £1, with £5 notes reintroduced between 1961 and 1963.
After the
Central Bank of Malta
was established by the Central Bank Act of 1967 and began operating on April 17, 1968,
[2]
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.
[2]
Lira
[
edit
]
Banknotes issued by the
Government of Malta
and then by the
Central Bank of Malta
were written in
English
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.
[3]
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
cents
. 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
on 1 January 2008, as part of the
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
.
[4]
Euro changeover
[
edit
]
The Maltese lira was replaced by the
euro
as the official currency of
Malta
at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of Lm 0.429300 per €1.
However, Maltese lira banknotes and coins continued to have
legal tender
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
until 1 February 2010, and banknotes remained convertible until 31 January 2018.
Exchange rate
[
edit
]
Since the Maltese currency was considered a local issue of sterling rather than an entirely separate currency until 13 December 1971, the two currencies maintained an exact 1:1 equivalence with each other. Afterwards, the Maltese currency was allowed to float, anchored to a basket of
reserve currencies
. The lira had subsequently
[
when?
]
been worth around GBP 1.60. After the
Kuwaiti dinar
, 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
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
on 10 July 2007,
[5]
at Lm 0.4293 to one euro.
[6]
[7]
[8]
Coins
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
On 15 January 1973,
[2]
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.
Banknote Series the Maltese lira
|
Series
|
Symbol
|
Denominations
|
Date of issue
|
2nd
|
£M
|
£M £1, M £5, M 10
|
1973
|
3rd
|
1979
|
4th
|
Lm
|
Lm 2, Lm 5, Lm 10, Lm 20
|
1986
|
5th
|
1989
|
Banknotes of the fourth series were:
Fourth Series
[9]
|
Image
|
Value
|
Equivalent in
Euros
(€)
|
Dimensions
|
Main Colour
|
Description
|
Date of
|
Obverse
|
Reverse
|
Obverse
|
Reverse
|
Watermark
|
first printing
|
issue
|
withdrawal
|
lapse
|
[10]
|
[11]
|
Lm 2
|
4.66
|
138 × 66.5 mm
|
Red
|
Agatha Barbara
, map of Malta, and a
brigantine
(1531).
|
Marsaxlokk
harbour,
gantry cranes
|
Allegorical head
|
1967 (legal basis)
|
17 March 1986
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15 June 1998
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15 June 2008
|
[12]
|
[13]
|
Lm 5
|
11.65
|
145 × 69 mm
|
Blue
|
Agatha Barbara, map of Malta, and a
speronara
(1798)
|
Mellieħa
Bay, a woman engaged in lace making, a fisherman in the course of making fishing pots
|
[14]
|
[15]
|
Lm 10
|
23.29
|
152 × 72.5 mm
|
Green
|
Agatha Barbara, map of Malta, and a
tartana
(1740)
|
Grand Harbour
, Malta Drydocks
|
13 September 2000
|
13 September 2010
|
[13]
|
[14]
|
Lm 20
|
46.59
|
159 × 76 mm
|
Brown
|
Agatha Barbara, map of Malta, and a
xebec
(1743)
|
Auberge de Castille
, the monument dedicated to the Maltese worker in
Msida
|
30 November 1992
|
2 December 2002
|
Banknotes in circulation at the time of the introduction of the euro were:
Fifth Series
[9]
|
Image
|
Value
|
Equivalent in
Euros
(€)
|
Dimensions
|
Main Colour
|
Description
|
Date of
|
Obverse
|
Reverse
|
Obverse
|
Reverse
|
Watermark
|
first printing
|
issue
|
withdrawal
|
lapse
|
[15]
|
[16]
|
Lm 2
|
4.66
|
138 × 66.5 mm
|
Red, violet
|
Melita
holding a rudder, symbolising Malta in control of her own destiny, 3
doves
symbolising peace,
United Nations Emblem
, the
Central Bank of Malta
Coat-of-Arms, mosaic designs from the period of Roman presence in Malta.
|
The
Banca Giuratale
at
Mdina
and
the one
at
Victoria, Gozo
|
Allegorical head
|
1967 (legal basis)
|
18 September 1989
Enhanced: 1 June 1994
|
31 January 2008
[16]
|
31 January 2018
[16]
|
[17]
|
[18]
|
Lm 5
|
11.65
|
145 × 69 mm
|
Blue
|
Mdina
Gate
,
Torre dello Standardo
, extract from Maltese declaration of rights
|
[19]
|
[20]
|
Lm 10
|
23.29
|
152 × 72.5 mm
|
Green
|
Sette Giugno
Monument in
Valletta
, a national assembly meeting held on 7 June 1919, the day when four Maltese citizens were killed
|
[21]
|
[22]
|
Lm 20
|
46.59
|
159 × 76 mm
|
Brown, orange
|
George Borg Olivier
, raising of the Maltese flag, a marble tablet in Valletta commemorating Independence
|
For table standards, see the
banknote specification table
.
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Central Bank of Malta
Archived
2013-10-29 at the
Wayback Machine
, The Coinage of Malta
- ^
a
b
c
d
Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Malta".
The Banknote Book
. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
- ^
Banknote World - Malta
- ^
Press Releases and Speeches
Archived
2007-12-26 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Cyprus and Malta to adopt the euro on 1 January 2008"
(PDF)
.
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
. 10 July 2007.
- ^
"Cyprus and Malta to adopt euros"
. BBC News. 10 July 2007
. Retrieved
20 August
2007
.
- ^
"Commission hails approval of the adoption of the euro in Cyprus and Malta"
.
europa.eu
.
European Commission
. Retrieved
17 December
2007
.
- ^
"Maltese Euro Conversion Process"
. Retrieved
16 July
2014
.
- ^
a
b
"Maltese Banknotes and Coins - The Central Bank of Malta"
. Centralbankmalta.com. Archived from
the original
on 16 May 2008
. Retrieved
25 December
2013
.
- ^
[1]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[2]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[3]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[4]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[5]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[6]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
European Central Bank
.
"The euro cash changeover in Malta"
. Archived from
the original
on 19 January 2008
. Retrieved
2 January
2008
.
- ^
[7]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[8]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[9]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[10]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[11]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[12]
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
External links
[
edit
]
Wikinews has related news:
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General
| |
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Administration
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Fiscal provisions
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Economy
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International status
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Denominations
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Coins by country with minting rights
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Potential adoption by
other countries
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History
| General
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Previous EU members
and euro
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Preceding currencies
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Former fiscal provisions
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|
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Currency units named
pound
,
lira
, or similar
|
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Circulating
| |
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Local alternative currency
| |
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Defunct
| |
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Historical antecedents (mass)
| |
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See also
| |
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