10 Cents

Malta's decimal coinage was introduced in 1972 when the country converted from the pound-shilling-pence system to the Maltese lira and cents, a changeover that had been delayed for years by the political complexities of the island's transition away from British colonial administration. The Central Bank itself had only been established in 1968, giving it barely four years to prepare a complete decimal series before launch.

The series ran through 1981 without major revision — a notable span given how frequently newly independent states adjusted their coinage in the postcolonial period.