Malta · Series: Constitutional History of Malta, 1st issue, 1849 First elected representatives

Issue date17 Oct 2011

Total mintage405,000

EU maximum430,000

Editions3

Edge lettering2 ✠✠ × 6, alternately upright/inverted

Inscription2011 / Malta — Erste gewählte Vertreter 1849

DesignerĠanni Bonnici

mintKoninklijke Nederlandse Munt, Utrecht

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates Malta’s first elected representatives in 1849. The design shows a hand casting a ballot into a ballot box, as well as the inscription “Malta — First elected representatives 1849”.

The design

The coin’s inner disc depicts a hand casting a ballot paper into a ballot box. Below it is the year of issue “2011”. Along the inner ring of the coin, the words “Malta — First elected representatives 1849” are inscribed from the upper left to the lower right.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.

Background on the topic

Malta had been under British rule since the end of the French occupation; in 1814, the archipelago formally became a British Crown Colony. Political decision-making initially lay largely with the governor and the colonial administration. Although a Council of Government was established in 1835, its members were appointed. In the following years, demands from the Maltese population for a say in government, a freer press and participation in legislation led to further reforms.

With the Constitution of 1849, the Council of Government received members determined by election for the first time. However, this did not yet create a parliament in the modern sense. In addition to the elected representatives, the governor and appointed officials continued to belong to the council. The British colonial power retained control over the government and could rely on the official members in the council. The elected members therefore had only limited influence on legislation and administration.

The election itself also did not correspond to the modern understanding of universal and equal suffrage. Only a small part of the male population was entitled to vote. Property, income and other requirements excluded large sections of the population; women had no voting rights. Nevertheless, the regulation permanently introduced the electoral principle into the Maltese institutions and created a framework in which political interests could be represented publicly.

The issue belongs to a Maltese coin series on the constitutional history of the country. Further issues dealt with later steps such as the introduction of a representative majority, self-government, independence and the proclamation of the republic. The occasion commemorated here was chosen as the starting point of this development: It marks the transition from an exclusively appointed colonial council to a representation legitimised at least partly through elections. The series thus placed successive changes in the state order, rather than individual politicians, at the centre.