I love these too, and always felt that the dolphins were laughing.
Bob
Yes, I always smile when I look at them.
I would say that those denominations where available still in the last sets before the euro. At least I have those in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Edit : You can find the cross of Malta in 2 mils , 2005 set, and the bee in 3 mils, 2006 set.
I'm surprised that the mils coins were included, or that they circulated together, because the coin designs were changed in 1986.
Here are the coins of my 1986 proof set:
1 cent. Weasel.
2 cents. Olive branch.
5 cents. Fresh water crab.
10 cents. Dolphin fish.
25 cents. The Ghirlanda plant.
50 cents. The Tulliera plant.
1 lira. The Merill (blue rock thrush), Malta's national bird.
And here are the coins of my 1972 proof set:
2 mils. Maltese Cross.
3 mils. Bee and honey comb.
5 mils. Earthen lampstand.
1 cent. George Cross.
2 cents. Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons.
5 cents. Floral altar in the Temple of Hagar Qim.
10 cents. Barge of the Grand Master.
50 cents. Great Siege Monument, portraying three deities.
So if the mils coins were still issued after 1986, I'm surprised that the Maltese didn't change THEIR designs too. Or maybe they were planning to phase them out, originally?
Anyway, the new designs after 1986 were also attractive ones. I particularly liked the weasel and the crab.
The denomination mil is not as unusual as all that. There are quite a few Arab states that used a pound of 1000 mils at some time. This is likely to be the source of inspiration for the Maltese mil. In addition, the mil was a US denomination. Just not on coins.
Peter
I don't really know whether they actually circulated. I suppose they were only issued for sets in the last pre-euro years. In fact, I am having a look at World Coins catalog, and it says it is "in sets only". The error I found in the book is that it says that there is a 2 mils coin in 2005, 2006 and 2007 set, although I show here that you have :
2005 -> 2 mils
2006 -> 3 mils
2007 -> 5 mils
Quote from: Figleaf on March 17, 2011, 12:57:33 PM
The denomination mil is not as unusual as all that. There are quite a few Arab states that used a pound of 1000 mils at some time. This is likely to be the source of inspiration for the Maltese mil. In addition, the mil was a US denomination. Just not on coins.
Peter
I think the point relates more to the timing of the issue, and the changeover of the designs on the cent-denominated coins.
In 1986 Malta issued a new series of coins with changed specifications.
It also had new reverse designs and a new obverse design.
I have recently updated Christopher Ironside's work on Wikipedia including the Malta coins. Your information adds to my research. Thank you.
Yes, I've had a look at your Wikipedia page. I only wish something as informative as that had been available earlier. Designers have been neglected, but it's always fascinating to see the scope of their portfolio. Mr Ironside was an excellent modeller too - just look at the detail on that first Maltese set.
..there is a story in there. Christopher did take the Royal Mint to the High Court over copyright issues saying that designers should both be recognised and get paid royalties if their designs were used by the client for purposes other than the initial commission.
According to my notes from the National Archives, the original 1970s designs were all ascribed to Envin Cremona, except for the 3 mils (honeybee), 5 mils (earthen lampstand), and the 2 cents (Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons), which were credited to Mr Ironside, who modelled all the designs. The 25 cents didn't appear until 1975, and I have no data on that. (There is a backlog of documents that should have arrived at the National Archives but still hasn't). Does this data square with your own researches, Spyke63? And do you know whether Mr Ironside also designed the 1975 25 cents?
There was indeed a Maltese pound, another name for which was the lira. Just like Lebanese pounds still exist, but are known as livres locally, at least to those speaking French ...
Quote from: translateltd on March 23, 2011, 06:30:57 PM
There was indeed a Maltese pound, another name for which was the lira. Just like Lebanese pounds still exist, but are known as livres locally, at least to those speaking French ...
Basically I agree - what is a pound in English is a livre in French, a lira in Italian, etc. However, if you look at the Maltese coins, you will see that the £ symbol was actually replaced by Lm. Now you may say that "pound/pounds" is English and "lira/liri" is Maltese. But the central bank (http://www.centralbankmalta.org/site/currency1f.html) specifically states that the pound "was renamed Maltese lira (Lm) in 1983" ...
Christian
I'm reminded that in parts of rural France un livre is half a kilo, or 1.1lb. The pound/livre duality continues.
Quote from: chrisild on March 23, 2011, 11:15:37 PM
Basically I agree - what is a pound in English is a livre in French, a lira in Italian, etc. However, if you look at the Maltese coins, you will see that the £ symbol was actually replaced by Lm. Now you may say that "pound/pounds" is English and "lira/liri" is Maltese. But the central bank (http://www.centralbankmalta.org/site/currency1f.html) specifically states that the pound "was renamed Maltese lira (Lm) in 1983" ...
Christian
So indeed the pound was the official term prior to 1983.
Yes, it was - that is why I wanted to emphasize that the change from "pound/pounds" to "lira/liri" was actually a name change. Now I would still like to know whether Mr Ironside won the case ...
Christian
Christian, the case was both won and lost (I can't say much more). Interestingly though, it was one of Mark Stephens' first cases (Intellectual Property Law; Christopher Ironside vs HM Attorney-General CH 1983 I No. 2977). Mark in now the defence for Julian Assange.
Malta 50 cents trial.jpg
Malta 50 cents trial-.jpg
Malta, 50 cents trial, 1972. Royal Mint.
See: MALTA. 1972 (ND) copper-nickel 50 Cent Planchet Trial. PCGS Genuine Royal Mint. | eBay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MALTA-1972-ND-copper-nickel-50-Cent-Planchet-Trial-PCGS-Genuine-Royal-Mint/183945641135?hash=item2ad403bcaf:g:Pn0AAOSwQVdddVwb)
Western Europe: Some pre-euro coinages issued after 1945.
01] Austria: pre-euro coinage from 1946 to 2001 (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,43846.0.html).
02] Belgian franc: from 1948 until the euro (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,45431.0.html).
03] Coinage of Switzerland (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,45897.0.html).
04] Cyprus: final coinage under British rule (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,49443.0.html).
05] Finland: Wildlife series of the 1990s (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,25942.0.html).
06] French coins from the 1950s until the introduction of the euro (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,47843.0.html).
07] German coinage of the Allied occupation, 1945 to 1948 (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,46863.0.html).
08] Greece 1973: the fascinating story behind Series A and B (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,14985.0.html).
09] Icelandic marine series, 1981 to date (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,14175.0.html).
10] Italy's final pre-euro coinage (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,43868.0.html).
11] Luxembourg's coinage after World War 2 but before the euro (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,47910.0.html).
12] Malta's pre-euro coinage, 1972-2007 (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,9100.0.html).
13] Milestones in the coinage of the Netherlands (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,35965.0.html).
14] Milestones in the decimal coinage of Gibraltar (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,12037.0.html).
15] Milestones in the decimal coinage of Guernsey (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,11469.0.html).
16] Milestones in the decimal coinage of Ireland (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,43366.0.html).
17] Milestones in the decimal coinage of Jersey (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,11503.0.html).
18] Milestones in the decimal coinage of the Isle of Man (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,11994.0.html).
19] Milestones in the decimal coinage of the UK (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,12072.0.html).
20] Norwegian wildlife series, 1958 to 1973 (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,14248.0.html).
21] Portugal's final pre-euro coin series (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,44163.0.html).
22] Pre-euro Coinage of the Federal Republic of Germany (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,45480.0.html).
23] Pre-euro coinage of the Republic of Greece, 1976 to 2001 (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,49456.0.html).
24] Republic of Cyprus: pre-euro coinage (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,49444.0.html).
25] Spain: pre-euro coinage of King Juan Carlos I (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,49513.0.html).
I wrote the original parent topic about the Maltese coinage in 2011. I decided to update it by adding details and improved images. I saved the comments from the original Malta topic into this topic here
I still have one or two things to add to the new parent topic before I finish it.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=121893)
A question. The earthen lampstand on the 5 mils design is apparently known as Mnara or Imnara.
Does anybody know where I can find a photo of it?
As for the design of the set, I have seen a few sets where all the obverse and reverse designs are different. This Maltese set has all different obverse designs, but the reverse designs all feature the same wreath of vine leaves. Can you think of any other set that has a common REVERSE design but all different OBVERSE designs? That is the opposite way around from the usual situation.
According to Wikipedia the mils coins were removed from circulation in 1994. After that date they were minted as 'special coins' for their inclusion in the packaged BU coin sets:
2005 - 2 mils
2006 - 3 mils
2007 - 5 mils
Thank you, Biggy. I have incorporated that info into my topic.
But I am wondering - we the mils coins still minted for circulation up to 1994?
Quote from: <k> on September 09, 2022, 08:05:44 PMBut I am wondering - we the mils coins still minted for circulation up to 1994?
I do not think so. They were certainly not included in the official proof and BU coin sets.
I see.