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
Decimal Day officially authorized the United States as the first English-speaking nation to have decimalised currency, although Tsar Peter the Great used the concept for the Russian ruble close to a century earlier, in 1704, while China has used such a decimal system for at least 2000 years. The United Kingdom's Parliament rejected Sir John Wrottesley's proposals to decimalise sterling in 1824, which was prompted by the introduction in 1795 of the decimal French franc. After this defeat, little practical progress towards decimalisation was made for over a century, with the exception of the two-shilling silver florin (worth of a pound) first