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1 Shilling Overprint
| Issuer | Government of Malta |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Portrait of King George V in an ornate oval vignette at right, with a guilloche underprint across the face. The note is a 1 Shilling overprint on an earlier 2 Shillings issue, with red overprint text cancelling the original denomination and substituting the new value; a date and two manuscript signatures of the Commissioners of Currency appear at lower centre. Serial number printed in red at upper left and lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF MALTA Hereby declares this Note -( ONE SHILLING )- to be legal tender for payments not exceeding £2 |
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| Comments |
Malta entered the Second World War in June 1940, and the island's administration faced an immediate problem: sterling coinage was scarce, hoarded, or physically unavailable in the volumes needed for daily commerce under siege conditions. The solution was this overprinted note — an emergency measure applied to existing stock rather than a newly commissioned design, which allowed the Government to push paper into circulation faster than a full print run would permit.
De La Rue applied the overprint in London on previously printed material. The speed of the arrangement explains the note's existence; it was never intended as a permanent fixture in the currency.