Malta is an island nation located in the central part of the Mediterranean Sea. A small but strategically important group of islands. The archipelago throughout its long and turbulent history has played a vital role in the struggle for dominance in the Mediterranean and in the interaction between the emerging Europe and the more ancient cultures of Africa and Central Asia. As a result, Maltese society was formed through centuries of foreign rule by various powers, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Swabians, Aragonese, hospital admirers, French and British.
Currently, the payment there is the euro. The history of the development of the monetary system on the island can be traced back two millennia. Before the euro, Malta's currency was a variety of monetary units.
First money
In 218 BC e. the Carthaginians were the first to bring bronze coins to Malta. After the conquest of the island by the Romans, local bronze money was minted on the basis of Roman weight standards.
Around the year 35 e. the inscription MELITAS (from Malta) first appeared on Maltese coins. After the first century, there is no evidence of the release of Roman-Maltese money, most likely, they paid with a Roman coin distributed throughout the empire.
Between the collapse of the Roman Empire in 395 and the arrival of the Order of St. John in Malta in 1530, Arab money (890 - 1090), Norman (1127 - 1194), Swabian (1194 - 1266), Anjou (1266 - 1283) and Aragonese were in circulation (1284 - 1530). Although Maltese coins of the medieval period are known to be absent from public or private collections, references to them can be found in official documents.
From 1530 to 1798, the Order of St. John had the right to mint its own money in Malta. Throughout his reign, various gold (Zekkin), silver (Skud tal-Fidda) and copper coins were issued.
After the surrender of Malta to Napoleon in June 1798, the French confiscated almost all gold, silver and precious stones. During the blockade (until 1800), local currency was not minted, and the confiscated gold and silver were turned into bullion, on which was sealed with their value. It was they who were in circulation during this period.
Pound use
With the advent of the British protectorate in 1800, the Mint of Malta ceased to function. During the first 50 years of British rule, various foreign money was in circulation.
In 1855, British coins became the currency of Malta and were declared the only legal tender. But, despite this, until 1886, Sicilian dollars continued to be the main money used by local residents.
Although Malta's currency was the pound, due to concerns about World War I, local official banknotes began to print in 1914. This first series did not last long, and in 1915 it was replaced again by the money of Great Britain, which were in circulation until 1949.
With the outbreak of World War II on September 13, 1939, a law was passed authorizing the Maltese government to issue banknotes in denominations of 1 pound or less, which gradually went into circulation during 1940-1943. The problem of small-value paper money was caused by a lack of metal for minting coins and the difficulty of delivering British currency to Malta during the war. With the end of the war, these small bills became obsolete and obsolete, mainly due to the fact that the paper wore out too quickly, and they were again replaced by British coins, which continued to be distributed as legal tender until 1972.
In 1949, Malta established the Monetary Council and again began issuing its banknotes. The Maltese pound was still pegged to the pound, and this ratio was observed until the end of the 1970s.
In 1972, Malta abandoned the British system of pounds, shillings and pence. The pound was still the Maltese currency, and the first set of decimal coins was issued in eight denominations: 50c, 10c, 5c, 2c from a copper-nickel alloy; 1s of bronze and 5, 3 and 2 pounds of aluminum.
New money
The Central Bank of Malta was established by the Central Bank Act of 1967 and began to function on April 17, 1968. From this date, he took over the functions of the monetary council and began to issue the national currency of Malta. In June 1968, he accepted the assets and liabilities of the Bills Security Fund at the Monetary Council.
The name Maltese lira was not used on banknotes until 1973 and on coins until 1986.
Change money was issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 cents and 1 lira, and banknotes were issued in denominations of 2, 5, 10 and 20 lira.
Transition to the Eurozone
In 2008, the island refused to use the lyre. As a means of payment, they adopted their own euro coins with images of the coat of arms of the island, the Maltese cross and the altar of the Mnaidra temple. There are eight coins in total: € 2, € 1, € 0.50, € 0.20, € 0.10, € 0.05, € 0.02 and € 0.01.
Currently, the exchange rate to the euro is 73.3 Russian rubles, 0.889 pounds and 1.1655 US dollars.