After 1986 the lira was abbreviated as Lm, although the original £M sign continued to be used unofficially.

This exchange rate meant that the smallest Maltese coin, the grano, was worth one third of a farthing (1 scudo = 20 tari = 240 grani).

Amongst the British colonies which used sterling coinage, Malta was unique in issuing a 1⁄3-farthing coin.

[4] The Maltese lira was replaced by the euro as the official currency of Malta at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of Lm 0.429300 per €1.

However, Maltese lira banknotes and coins continued to have legal tender status and were accepted for cash payments until 31 January 2008.

After the Kuwaiti dinar, it was the second-highest-valued currency unit in the world, being worth US$3.1596 as of 28 April 2007.

The currency entered the ERM II on 2 May 2005, by which its value had to be maintained within a 15% band around the central parity rate of Lm 0.429300 per euro.

The Central Bank of Malta and Maltese Government unilaterally decided to keep the actual Lm/€ exchange rate equal to the central parity rate (i.e., doing away with the 15% band) throughout the ERM II period.

The irrevocable fixed conversion rate was established by the ECOFIN on 10 July 2007,[5] at Lm 0.4293 to one euro.

[6][7][8] Decimal coinage was introduced in 1972 (one year after the United Kingdom) based on the "pound and mil" system proposed in 1855 by Sir William Brown MP in denominations of 2, 3, and 5 mils, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 50 cents.