The lira (Maltese: lira Maltija, plural: liri, ISO 4217 code : MTL) was the currency of Malta from 1972 until 31 December 2007. The lira was abbreviated as Lm, although the traditional ₤ sign was often used locally. In English, the Maltese currency was sometimes referred to as the pound.

The euro replaced the Maltese lira as the official currency of Malta on 1 January 2008 at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of 0.429300 MTL per 1 euro.

In 1825, an imperial order-in-council introduced British currency to Malta, replacing a situation where various coinages circulated, including that issued in Malta by the Knights of St John. The pound was valued at 12 scudi of the local currency. This exchange rate meant that the smallest Maltese coin, the grano, was worth one third of a farthing (1 scudo = 20 tari = 240 grani). Consequently, ⅓ farthing coins were issued for use in Malta until 1913, alongside the regular British coinage. Amongst the British colonies which used the sterling coinage, Malta was unique in having the ⅓ farthing coin.

Lira (sign: ₤, £, or L; plural: lire) is the name of the monetary unit of a number of countries, as well as the former currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino,Syria,Lebanon and the Vatican City (replaced in 2002 with the euro) and Israel. The term originates from the value of a Troy pound (Latin libra) of high purity silver. The libra was the basis of the monetary system of the Roman Empire. When Europe resumed a monetary system, during the Carolingian Empire, the Roman system was adopted, the so-called £sd (librae, solidi, denarii).

Particularly this system was kept during the Middle Ages and Modern Age in England, France, and Italy. In each of these countries the libra was translated into local language: pound in England, livre in France, lira in Italy. The Venetian lira was one of the currencies in use in Italy and due to the economic power of the Venetian Republic a popular currency in the Eastern Mediterranean trade.

During the 19th century Egypt and the Ottoman Empire adopted the lira as their national currency, equivalent to 100 piasters or kuruş. When the Ottoman Empire collapsed in years 1918-1922, many among the successor states kept the lira as their national currency. In some countries, such as Cyprus, which have belonged to both empires, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire, the words lira and pound are used as equivalents.