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A numismatic exhibition is housed in the foyer of the main
building of the Central Bank of Malta. Besides the currency
issues since 1968, the exhibition also includes a collection
of all available note issues of the legal tender currency
since 1914, when the first official Maltese currency notes
were issued. However, Malta's note issue history goes back
even further, to the beginning of the 19th Century when the
first banknotes were issued by the two leading local banks
of the day, the Banco Anglo-Maltese and the Banco di Malta.
The exhibition also includes the legal tender coinage of the
country. Until relatively recent times, the coins in circulation
in Malta were generally either those of the foreign power ruling
the islands or of neighbouring Mediterranean countries with
which Malta had extensive trade relations. Local coins, however,
were also known to have existed as early as the 3rd century
BC. Until 1972, British coins were still in use as the legal
tender coins of Malta. The island's coinage was radically changed
in May 1972 when, pursuant to legislation passed in September
1971, the decimal system was officially launched, replacing
a structure based on shillings and pence by one using cents
and mils. The Bank was responsible for the implementation of
the decimalisation changeover, moving in line with the recommendations
of the Currency Decimalisation Committee and cooperating with
the Decimal Currency Standing Working Committee. By the end
of 1972 all UK coins in local circulation were demonetised
and the only legal tender coins in use on the island were the
Maltese coins, which in turn remained legal tender until 31
January 2008.
Also on exhibit are the various gold
and silver coins issued by the Bank, thus placing Malta firmly
on the numismatic map.
The first of these was issued in 1972, when a gold and silver
set was issued in conjunction with the Sovereign Military Order
of Malta in Rome. The numismatic coins commemorate national
or international events, or feature distinguished personalities,
historical monuments/edifices, Maltese flora and fauna and
folkloristic articles. The Bank has recently added to its numismatic
exhibition the euro banknotes and all the national coins of
the euro area countries including the Maltese euro coins, along
with the symbolic Maltese euro coin presented at the ECOFIN’s
meeting held on 10th July 2007.
The Currency
Museum is open for public viewing at no charge
during the Bank's office hours.
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