Coins of the Maltese lira Coins of the Maltese lira Coins of the Maltese lira have been struck from when Malta adopted decimal currency in 1972, to 2007, after which Malta adopted the euro. There were 10 mils in one cent, and 100 cents in one Maltese lira. The coins in this series replaced the pre-decimal Pound Sterling which had been in use in Malta since 1825. Therefore, the sizes for some coins were similar to their pre-decimal equivalents, for example the 5c was similar to the shilling and the 10c to the two shillings. These coins were designed by Christopher Ironside OBE. In June
Coins of the pound sterling abbreviation for the old penny, d, was derived from the Roman "denarius", and the abbreviation for the shilling, s, from the Roman "solidus". The shilling was also denoted by the slash symbol, also called a solidus for this reason, which was originally an adaptation of the long s. The symbol "£", for the pound, is derived from the first letter of the Latin word for pound, "libra". A similar pre-decimal system operated in France, also based on the Roman currency, consisting of the "livre" (L), "sol" or "sou" (s) and "denier" (d). Until 1816 another similar system was used in