Money · Knights’ era
The Order’s silver-scudo system: 12 tari make a scudo; 20 grani make a tari; 6 piccioli make a grano.
Start converting ↗Scudo, tari, grano.
The Order ruled Malta in 1530–1798. These are denomination relationships, not metal weights, coin prices or a universal euro equivalent. Coinage and exchange conditions changed over time.
- Silver scudo
- 1 scudo = 12 tari = 240 grani = 1,440 piccioli.
- Tari
- 12 tari = 1 scudo; 1 tari = 20 grani.
- Grano · Knights’ era
- 20 grani = 1 tari; 240 grani = 1 scudo.
Every coin belongs to a time.
Choose an era. Explore its denominations and convert with the right context.
Coins that passed from hand to hand.
Photographs of real coins, with their denomination, period and source. Screen sizes do not represent physical coin sizes.
2 cents · 1976
Both sides of the 2c coin. Its face value is two Maltese lira cents, not euro cents.
Convert face value ↗Photo: Chatsam · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
4 liri · 1974
Commemorative coin showing the Cottonera Gate. Its nominal equivalent does not indicate its collector value.
Convert face value ↗Photo: Windrain · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
Third farthing · 1868
The denomination side: ONE THIRD FARTHING. A third of a farthing is one twelfth of a penny.
Convert face value ↗Photo: Editor8778 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
Grano · 1726
Grano from the period of Manoel de Vilhena, showing a cross and a winged arm holding a sword.
Convert face value ↗Photo: CNG · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
30 tari · 1798
Silver coin bearing Ferdinand Hompesch’s name. The source notes that it was probably struck during the French occupation.
Convert face value ↗Photo: CNG · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP.Money · Knights’ era
1 skud = 12 tarìThe Order’s silver-scudo system: 12 tari make a scudo; 20 grani make a tari; 6 piccioli make a grano.
Convert ↗ · History & sources ↗Money · Shillings & pence
£1 = 20 s = 240 dBefore 16 May 1972, Malta used British coins. A pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence: 240 pence per pound.
Convert ↗ · History & sources ↗Money · Lira & euro
€1 = Lm0.429300The Maltese decimal system: 1 lira = 100 cents = 1,000 mils. Decimal coins arrived on 16 May 1972; the euro on 1 January 2008.
Convert ↗ · History & sources ↗Coins, names & value
Remembering the decimal coins
The first 1972 series included 2, 3 and 5 mils, and 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 cents. The 25c and Lm1 coins came later.
Denomination symbols; not images of the original coins.What did 2/6 mean?
Two shillings and six pence: half a crown, or 30 pence. £1 2s 6d means one pound, two shillings and six pence — not 1.26 pounds.
2/6 → penny ↗Face value and purchasing power
Lm1 gives approximately €2.33 at the official rate. This does not show what an old wage or price could buy today. Inflation needs a year and price index; collectible coins need a separate valuation.
Malta broke the sterling peg in 1972; today’s GBP rate cannot be used for old Maltese money. No universal euro equivalent is supplied for the Knights’ currency.
- Central Bank of Malta — Currency ↗
Decimal coins from 16 May 1972; euro adopted on 1 January 2008.
- ECB — Malta: official euro conversion ↗
Fixed rate: €1 = Lm0.429300. This is not an inflation adjustment.
- Central Bank of Malta — Coinage in Malta ↗
PDF page 10: silver scudo = 12 tari; tari = 20 grani; grano = 6 piccioli.
- Parliament of Malta — Central Bank of Malta (Amendment No 2) Bill ↗
The decimal subdivision: 100 cents per pound, 10 mils per cent.
Meaning & context
Silver scudo
≈ 1 skud / scudoThe silver scudo in the Order of St John’s monetary system. It is the reference for tari, grani and piccioli here, without a modern euro exchange rate.
Tari
≈ 0.0833 skud / scudoA tari is one twelfth of a silver scudo and divides into 20 grani. The Central Bank describes Order coins bearing this denomination in different metals.
Grano · Knights’ era
≈ 0.0042 skud / scudoA grano is one twentieth of a tari and divides into six piccioli. Here it belongs to the Order’s system, separately from the British-period pre-decimal ħabba.
Picciolo
≈ 0.0007 skud / scudoA picciolo is a small subdivision of the Order’s money: six make a grano. Conversion concerns denominations and gives no metal or market valuation.
Sources & method
- Central Bank of Malta — Coinage in Malta ↗
PDF page 10: silver scudo = 12 tari; tari = 20 grani; grano = 6 piccioli.
- Unitajiet ta’ kejl Maltin — Wikipedija ↗
Starting point for names and meanings; not a sole authority.