18 Piastres - George VI

Cyprus was under British administration from 1878 and became a Crown Colony in 1925, but the piastre-based currency system — inherited from Ottoman rule — was retained rather than replaced with a straightforward sterling subdivision. The 18-piastre denomination was equal to one shilling and sixpence, an awkward conversion that reflected the practical difficulty of dismantling a deeply embedded local monetary tradition.

Production of this type ceased in 1940 as wartime silver pressures mounted across the British Empire. The 1938 issue was the first for George VI following his accession after the abdication crisis.