Catalog
1 Pound L. 1949
| Issuer | Government of Malta |
|---|---|
| Year | 1951 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | The George Cross vignette at centre-left is set against a light guilloche underprint, with an intaglio portrait of King George VI in an oval frame at right. Sterling pound symbols appear in the four corners within an intricate lace-pattern border, and the serial number in alphanumeric prefix is printed twice. A manuscript signature appears at lower right above the legend FOR THE CURRENCY BOARD. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central design consists of a blank heraldic shield reserved in white, flanked symmetrically on both sides by large intaglio-engraved acanthus leaf scrolls rendered in deep rose-brown on a fine guilloche background. The composition is enclosed within a double-rule border with a lace-pattern outer frame, and the printer's imprint THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY, LIMITED appears at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
Malta's 1949 Currency Note Ordinance provided the legal basis for this series, replacing wartime-era notes that had circulated under severe supply constraints. The island was still formally a British Crown Colony in 1951, and the note's authority derived from colonial statute rather than any local central banking institution — there was no Central Bank of Malta until 1968.
De La Rue's involvement was long-standing in Malta; the relationship predates this issue by decades and continued well past independence in 1964.