41/2 Piastres - George VI

Cyprus remained under British administration throughout the interwar period, and the 1938 coinage series was struck at the Royal Mint in London during a moment of significant colonial tension — the island had seen serious anti-British riots in 1931, during which the Government House was burned. The colonial administration's response included abolishing the Legislative Council entirely, leaving Cyprus governed by decree for years afterward.

The fractional piastre denominations were a legacy of the Ottoman monetary system Cyprus inherited upon British occupation in 1878 — an awkward inheritance the administration never fully rationalized before Cyprus moved to a decimal system in 1955.