Money · Lira & euro
The Maltese decimal system: 1 lira = 100 cents = 1,000 mils. Decimal coins arrived on 16 May 1972; the euro on 1 January 2008.
Start converting ↗One lira. One hundred cents.
The official rate is €1 = Lm0.429300. Conversion gives a nominal equivalent, not today’s purchasing power or a collector’s price. Lira cash is no longer redeemable at the Central Bank.
- Maltese lira (Lm)
- 1 lira = 100 cents = 1,000 mils; 1 lira ≈ €2.329373.
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
Maltese lira (Lm)
≈ 2.3294 EURThe Maltese lira was the main decimal currency unit. For its nominal euro equivalent, divide the lira amount by 0.429300 without rounding that rate.
Maltese cent (c)
≈ 0.0233 EURA cent of the lira system, one hundredth of a Maltese lira. It is not a euro cent: the systems have different values despite sharing the name.
Mil
≈ 0.0023 EURA mil was one thousandth of a Maltese lira, or one tenth of a Maltese cent. The first decimal series included coins of 2, 3 and 5 mils.
Sources & method
- ECB — Malta: official euro conversion ↗
Fixed rate: €1 = Lm0.429300. This is not an inflation adjustment.
- Central Bank of Malta — Currency ↗
Decimal coins from 16 May 1972; euro adopted on 1 January 2008.
- Parliament of Malta — Central Bank of Malta (Amendment No 2) Bill ↗
The decimal subdivision: 100 cents per pound, 10 mils per cent.
- Unitajiet ta’ kejl Maltin — Wikipedija ↗
Starting point for names and meanings; not a sole authority.