€25.91 million worth of Maltese coins unredeemed

Old Maltese currency coins to a value of €25.91 million remained unexchanged by yesterday - the closing day for the exchange of these coins into euros. The Central Bank said in a statement that more than 4,000 people called at the bank in January to...

Old Maltese currency coins to a value of €25.91 million remained unexchanged by yesterday - the closing day for the exchange of these coins into euros.

The Central Bank said in a statement that more than 4,000 people called at the bank in January to exchange coins presenting from a few cents for the smallest transactions recorded to larger ones exceeding a thousand lira in value and tens of thousands of coins.

The bank said that although it could not be ascertained why so many coins were not returned, it had to be assumed that a large proportion would have been exported by tourists visiting Malta over the years.

he returned coins, amounting to around 94 million pieces and weighing some 400 tonnes, are to be sold to specialised companies engaged in recycling the metal content.

Maltese lira banknotes can continue to be exchanged at the Central Bank's Annexe at St James’s Counterguard, Valletta until January 31, 2018.

Lm value

(Lm ’000)

Volume

1 January 2007 (one year prior to euro changeover)

20,852.2

238,654,095

31 December 2007

18,714.1

228,334,056

31 January 2008 (end of legal tender period)

13,814.7

185,902,447

1 February 2010

2m

3m

5m

1c

2c

5c

10c

25c

50c

Lm1

Total uncollected coins

17.8

21.9

36.5

469.7

686.9

1,026.5

1,907.5

1,554.9

2,045.8

3,354.3

8,879,505

7,311,147

7,297,180

46,965,650

34,346,238

20,530,811

19,074,708

6,219,786

4,091,697

3,354,295

11,121.8

158,071,017

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