Grano Public Deposited
A small copper coin which appears to have been originally issued by Ferdinand I of Aragon, as King of Naples and Sicily (1458 to 1494). Its value was the one hundredth part of the Ducato (q.v.) and multiples of two, three, five, and ten Grani were struck at later periods. The silver Grano, also called Obolo, was struck by Philip II of Spain, while ruler of Naples and Sicily (1554-1598), and multiples as high as twenty-six Grani appeared in 1686.
In Malta the Grano was struck in copper as early as the middle of the sixteenth century, but its value was much lower than the Sicilian type. In 1825 when the various British silver and copper coins were proclaimed as current in Malta, the Penny was made the equivalent of twelve Grani, and it was recommended that is addition to halfpence and farthings, a coin of the value of one third of a farthing, or a Grano, should be issued, "as many articles of primary necessity are often sold here to the value of one grano." The recommendation was carried out in 1827, when "British grain" were first introduced.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)