Until the introduction of the euro in Malta in 2008, the currency valid there was the Maltese lira. Its ISO code is “MTL”.
The official abbreviation was “Lm” and the Maltese lira was also known colloquially as “Pound / £” as it was the successor currency to the Maltese pound from 1972.
Malta is a small island nation, the culturally oriented towards Europe, located in the Mediterranean Sea, until 1964 the British ruled Malta, in 1974 Malta became a republic and the islands part of the British Federation.
Since 2004, Malta has been the smallest member of the European Union with around 436,000 inhabitants on an area of 316 square kilometers and has also been a member of the euro zone since 2008, with Malta meeting the requirements to limit inflation and budget deficits.
The Maltese currency was divided into one hundred cents and one thousand mils.
The latter subdivision was abandoned in the 1980’s when these coins were discontinued as 2, 3 and 5 mils pieces.
The coins were divided into 1, 2, 4, 10 and 50 cents and 1 lira, the banknotes into 2, 5, 10 and 20 lira.
The Maltese currency was a very stable currency and was seen as equivalent to the British pound for many years, as it hardly had any appreciable loss of value in the duration of its validity.
The exchange of money in Malta was straightforward and took place in exchange offices, banks and exchange machines that also accepted euro bills.
The Maltese lira was replaced on 01.01.2008 with the introduction of the euro as a means of payment, which Malta remained stable within the framework of EU conditions. Because of this, it was possible to exchange money in the country for vacationers at very good rates.
The Maltese coins could be exchanged for euros in the Maltese central bank until February 1, 2010, while this was possible for the Maltese banknotes until January 31, 2018.
Exchange rate to the Maltese lira
The exchange rate for the Maltese Lira was set at 1 Euro = 0.4293 Maltese Lira. For 1 Maltese lira you got 2.3295 euros.
The 1 and 2 euro coins of Malta show the coat of arms of the Sovereign Order of Malta, the Maltese cross, while the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins bear the coat of arms of Malta.
The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins show the altar of the megalithic temple complex of Mnajdra, one of the cultural assets of the Maltese islands.