5 Mils

Cyprus decimalized its currency in 1955 under British colonial administration, but the mil denominations that resulted — including this piece — carried over into the Republic's coinage largely unchanged after independence in 1960. The 5 Mils ran continuously through 1980, when rampant inflation had rendered the smallest denominations economically pointless. It was demonetized alongside the 1 and 3 Mils as part of a quiet rationalization of the currency that nobody mourned.

The Turkish invasion of 1974 and subsequent partition of the island had no immediate effect on the coinage series, which continued uninterrupted from the government-controlled south.