Malta · Series: By Children with Solidarity, Cultural Heritage

Issue date7 Nov 2018

Total mintage320,000

EU maximum320,000

Editions3

Edge lettering2 ✠✠ × 6, alternately upright/inverted

InscriptionMalta / 2018

DesignerNicole Dimech

mintMonnaie de Paris, Pessac

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin is dedicated to Malta’s cultural heritage. The design, created by a schoolgirl, depicts prehistoric temples as the oldest free-standing structures in the world, a church dome with bell tower typical of Maltese towns and villages, and a traditional Maltese boat flying the Maltese flag.

The design

The coin design was created by a schoolgirl and depicts various typical elements of Maltese cultural heritage. It refers to the prehistoric temples as the oldest free-standing structures in the world, shows a church dome and a bell tower as typical buildings in Maltese towns and villages, and depicts a traditional Maltese boat with the Maltese flag. The name of the issuing country, “Malta”, appears at the top of the coin’s inner section, while the year of issue, “2018”, is shown at the bottom.

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

Background on the topic

Malta has several megalithic temple complexes that were built between the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. They include Ġgantija on Gozo as well as Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, Tarxien, Ta’ Ħaġrat and Skorba on the main island. They were created long before the Egyptian pyramids. Their builders used large blocks of limestone and constructed complexes with several, often semicircular chambers. No written evidence of this society has survived; however, altars, animal bones and figurines suggest ritual activities. Several of these complexes are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Malta’s distinctive ecclesiastical architecture is connected with the long history of Catholicism on the islands. Baroque forms spread particularly under the Order of St John (Johanniterorden), which ruled Malta from 1530 to 1798. However, many parish churches did not acquire their present form until the 19th or early 20th century. Churches not only shape the appearance of towns and villages, but also form the focus of the local “Festi”. These patron-saint festivals combine religious services with processions, music, fireworks and the decoration of streets and buildings.

Seafaring has shaped Malta because of its location between Sicily and North Africa. For centuries, the islands served as ports and as trading and military bases. Small local boats were used for fishing, transporting goods and travel between the islands. The maritime tradition thus refers both to everyday forms of livelihood and to Malta’s contacts with different cultural spheres of the Mediterranean.

The issue was part of a multi-year Maltese coin programme in which children and young people designed motifs on social themes. The occasion was therefore not the anniversary of a single event. Rather, the aim was to address the theme of cultural heritage from the perspective of young people. The connection between different periods – prehistory, religiously shaped local culture and the maritime way of life – brings together key areas through which Malta conveys its historical identity.