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5 Shillings
| Issuer | Government of Malta |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound (1825-1972) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in green and red on white paper, with an intaglio portrait of King George VI in right profile set within an oval guilloche vignette at the right. The centre carries the denomination FIVE SHILLINGS in a bold red panel, flanked by guilloche underprint work and repeating GOVERNMENT OF MALTA watermark-style lettering along the lower border. Denomination numerals 5/- appear in each corner, with the serial number printed twice in red — once at upper left and once at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF MALTA HEREBY DECLARES THIS NOTE FIVE SHILLINGS TO BE LEGAL TENDER FOR PAYMENTS NOT EXCEEDING £2 |
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| Comments |
Malta's 1939 5 Shillings note was issued under British colonial authority just weeks before war broke out in Europe. The colony's government moved quickly to stabilize its currency supply in anticipation of wartime disruption, and Bradbury Wilkinson — then the dominant security printer for British colonial issues — produced the run in London.
Wartime conditions hit Malta harder than almost any other Allied territory. The island's siege between 1940 and 1942 meant normal note replacement cycles collapsed entirely. Surviving examples from this issue are frequently found heavily circulated, as damaged notes simply stayed in use far longer than peacetime practice would have permitted.