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| Obverse of the first permanent issue of Maltese notes. This one pound note circulated for three years until replaced by an identical one bearing the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which was released to commemorate her visit to the island in 1954. |
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| Reverse of the initial 1951 issue of the Board of Currency one pound note. The 1951 and 1954 issues were the product of Thomas De la Rue and Company. |
Malta currency one Pound banknote 1949 King George VI & Cross of St. George
Maltese banknotes, Maltese paper money, Maltese bank notes, Malta banknotes, Malta paper money, Malta bank notes.
Obverse: Portrait of King George VI and the George Cross that had been awarded to the people and the defenders of Malta in April 1942.
Reverse: White shield surrounded by foliage motif.
Printer: Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited, London England.
Malta banknotes - Malta paper money
The 1949 Ordinance was passed to ‘stamp’ a permanent existence on the issue of Maltese currency notes, which had always been a temporary measure to make up for the scarcity of coinage. A Currency Board was set up to oversee and control the issue of currency notes.In 1951, the £1 and 10s denomination notes were issued, bearing the portrait of King George VI and a reproduction of the George Cross. The £1 note was brown and the 10s note was green. In 1954, the notes were re-issued with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, to mark her visit to Malta. The notes were printed by Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd, as had been the 1951 notes.
In 1961, £5 notes were issued to facilitate economic activity, while in 1963, new editions of the £1 and 10s notes were issued, all forming part of the ‘Pictorial Series’ bearing the portrait by Pietro Annigoni of Queen Elizabeth II. The 1961 and 1963 notes were printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ltd.
10 Shillings One Pound
Malta Paper Currency
By the time World War II ended the Maltese had become used to their wartime emergency currency, which had proved a real convenience, especially when larger payments for goods and services were required. A decision was made to continue the issuance of a paper currency after the war. It was decided, however, to end the issue of temporary currency notes in favor of a permanent Maltese pound. This was accomplished by the Currency Note Ordnance of 1949, which placed the Maltese pound at par with the British pound sterling. The Board of Commissioners of Currency was set up as the sole body responsible for the issue of paper money. Bank of England notes then ceased to be legal tender in Malta.
The first Maltese notes appeared in 1951 in denominations of 10 shillings and 1 pound. They bore a portrait of King George VI together with a representation of the Cross of St. George on the obverse. It will be remembered that this award was bestowed upon the entire Maltese people in honor of their valiant defense of the island during the late war. The reverses of the first issue displayed a simple shield at the center
surrounded by ornamental leaves. The watermark is that of a female warrior clad in armor. Mr. Cushieri, the Maltese Treasurer, authenticated the 1951 issue.
When Queen Elizabeth II visited the island on 24 April, 1954, an identical set of notes was released to commemorate her royal visit. These notes bear the portrait of Elizabeth II in lieu of George VI. Initially the notes were signed by Cushieri and subsequently by Mr. D.S. Shepard, providing numismatists two varieties of the note.
Due to increased employment, greater industrial development, and the rise of tourism since the end of World War II; currency in circulation had been steadily increasing. This necessitated the release of Malta's first 5 pound note in June 1961. The note proved so popular in facilitating trade that it underwent several printings, the first of which carried the signature of Mr. D. A Shepard and the latter that of Mr. R. Soler, the Accountant General.