1 Shilling Overprint

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.