10 Pounds

Malta's Government Note issue of 1914 was a direct response to the financial disruption caused by the outbreak of World War One. The British Treasury's suspension of gold convertibility in August 1914 forced crown colonies and protectorates to improvise emergency paper currency almost simultaneously, and Malta was no exception. These notes gave the colonial government a mechanism to keep commerce moving while specie disappeared from circulation.

The embossed seal as the sole security feature reflects the speed and austerity of the issue. Sophisticated intaglio printing was not the priority — getting paper into circulation was.