Currency of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Maltese scudo
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Code
| none
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Plural
| scudi
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Subunit
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1
⁄
12
| tari
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1
⁄
240
| grano
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1
⁄
1440
| piccolo
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Plural
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tari
| tari
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grano
| grani
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piccolo
| piccoli
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Coins
| 15 piccoli
1, 5, 10 grani
1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 30 tari
1, 2, 5, 10, 20 scudi
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User(s)
| Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Previously:
Hospitaller Rhodes
(1318?1522)
Hospitaller Malta
(1530?1798)
French Malta
(1798?1800)
Independent Gozo
(1798?1801)
Malta Protectorate
(1800?1813)
Crown Colony of Malta
(1813?1825/1886)
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Pegged with
| euro
€0.24 = 1 scudo
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The
scudo
(plural
scudi
) is the official currency
[1]
of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
and was the currency of
Malta
during the rule of the Order over Malta, which ended in 1798. It is subdivided into 12
tari
(singular
tari
), each of 20
grani
(singular
grano
) with 6
piccioli
(singular
picciolo
) to the grano. It is pegged to the
euro
(at a rate of 1 scudo to €0.24, which translates to €1 = 4 scudi 2 tari).
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The scudo was first minted in
Rhodes
in 1318. By 1500, the coins had the distinctive characteristics of a cross and the Order's and Grandmaster's coat of arms on one side, and the
head of St. John the Baptist
on the other. The scudo was first minted in Malta during the reign of
Piero de Ponte
. The quality of the coins improved especially during the reign of
Antonio Manoel de Vilhena
in the early 18th century. At some points in time, foreign coinage was allowed to circulate in Malta alongside the scudo. These included
Spanish dollars
,
Venetian lira
,
Louis d'or
and other currencies.
[3]
During the
French occupation of Malta
in 1798, the French authorities melted down some of the silver from the island's churches and struck them into 15 and 30 tari coins from the 1798 dies of Grandmaster Hompesch. After the
Maltese rebellion
, gold and silver ingots were stamped with a face value in grani, tari and scudi and they briefly circulated as coinage in
Valletta
and the surrounding area.
[4]
The scudo continued to circulate on the island of Malta, which had become a
British colony
, along with some other currencies until they were all replaced by
sterling
[5]
in 1825, at a rate of £1 to 12 scudi (or 1 scudo = 1s. 8d.) using
British coinage
. Despite this, some scudi remained in use and the last coins were withdrawn from circulation and demonetized in November 1886.
[6]
1 scudo in 1886 had the spending power equivalent to £3.82 or €4.35 in 2011.
[7]
The present-day
Republic of Malta
adopted the
decimal
Maltese pound
in 1972, and the
euro
in 2008.
The SMOM, which is now based in
Rome
, has issued souvenir coins denominated in grani, tari and scudi since 1961. The 1961 issues were minted in
Rome
, while mints in
Paris
and
Arezzo
were used in 1962 and 1963. From 1964 onwards coins were minted in the Order's own mint.
[
citation needed
]
The scudo was also the currency used on the
Order's stamps
from 1961 to 2005, when the euro began to be used.
[
citation needed
]
Coins
[
edit
]
Coins were issued in denominations of 1,
2
+
1
⁄
2
, 5 and 10 grani, 1, 2, 4 and 6 tari, 1,
1
+
1
⁄
4
,
1
+
1
⁄
3
, 2,
2
+
1
⁄
2
, 5, 10 and 20 scudi. The 1,
2
+
1
⁄
2
, 5 and 10 grani and 1 tari were minted in copper, with the
2
+
1
⁄
2
grani denominated as 15 piccoli. The 2, 4 and 6 tari, 1,
1
+
1
⁄
4
,
1
+
1
⁄
3
, 2 and
2
+
1
⁄
2
scudi were silver coins, with the
1
+
1
⁄
4
,
1
+
1
⁄
3
and
2
+
1
⁄
2
scudi denominated as 15, 16 and 30 tari. The 5, 10, 20 scudi coins were gold.
Coins minted today include bronze 10 grani, silver 9 tari, 1 and 2 scudi and gold 5 and 10 scudi.
[8]
In 2011, a gold coin of
Antonio Manoel de Vilhena
minted in 1725 sold for
US$
340,000.
[9]
References
[
edit
]
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European Union
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Eastern
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Southern
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Western
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