Money · Shillings & pence
Before 16 May 1972, Malta used British coins. A pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence: 240 pence per pound.
Start converting ↗Twenty shillings. One pound.
This converts historical denominations. It uses no current GBP rate and has no automatic euro link. Read sold and ħabba in their period context.
- Shilling (xelin)
- 12 pence = 1 shilling; 20 shillings = 1 pound.
- Half crown
- 1 half crown = 2 shillings 6 pence = 30 pence.
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
Pound · pre-decimal
≈ 1 £ pre-1972A pound in Malta’s pre-decimal money system. It contains 20 shillings or 240 pence; it is not treated here as a modern pound sterling.
Shilling (xelin)
≈ 0.05 £ pre-1972A shilling is one twentieth of a pre-decimal pound and contains 12 pence. The notation 1/- means one shilling; 2/6 means two shillings and six pence.
Penny (sold)
≈ 0.0042 £ pre-1972Sold, in this pre-decimal context, means one penny. The name also has older monetary associations, so this definition is tied to British-period currency.
Halfpenny (nofs sold)
≈ 0.0021 £ pre-1972Half a penny, known as nofs sold or sitt ħabbiet in pre-decimal vocabulary. These names describe its nominal value within that historical period.
Farthing (tliet ħabbiet)
≈ 0.001 £ pre-1972A farthing was a quarter of a penny, called tliet ħabbiet in this vocabulary. It is not a quarter of a Maltese decimal cent or a euro cent.
Ħabba · pre-decimal
≈ 0.0003 £ pre-1972Here ħabba means one twelfth of a penny in Maltese British-period money vocabulary. The word has other historical meanings; it is not used to bridge to the Knights’ grano.
Sixpence
≈ 0.025 £ pre-1972A denomination of six pence, half a shilling in the pre-decimal system. The converter shows its nominal relationship to the penny and pound of that same system.
Florin · two shillings
≈ 0.1 £ pre-1972The florin is a two-shilling denomination, one tenth of a pre-decimal pound. Its value here is the monetary denomination, not its metal content or collector value.
Half crown
≈ 0.125 £ pre-1972A half crown is two shillings and six pence, often written 2/6. This makes 30 pence, or one eighth of a pre-decimal pound.
Sources & method
- Malta Blue Book 1827 — chapter 8 ↗
The sterling table: 12 pence to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound.
- Central Bank of Malta — Currency ↗
Decimal coins from 16 May 1972; euro adopted on 1 January 2008.
- Kliem u Storja — Flus ta’ żmien l-Ingliżi ↗
Secondary linguistic source for sold, nofs sold and ħabba in the pre-decimal context.
- Unitajiet ta’ kejl Maltin — Wikipedija ↗
Starting point for names and meanings; not a sole authority.