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CC 536 2024
2 euro coin
BU Main coin Bank issue
2 Euro BU
Malta · The Maltese honey bee, series: Native species
Mintage32,000
Issue date26 Aug 2024
Edge lettering2 ✠✠ × 6, alternately upright/inverted
Market price€27.90
Issue occasion
The commemorative coin is dedicated to the Maltese honey bee (Apis Mellifera Ruttneri), a species native exclusively to the Maltese islands. The design by Maria Anna Frisone shows a bee on a blossom and a honeycomb in the background, referring to its importance as a pollinator and honey producer. “MALTA” is inscribed on the left, while the year of issue is indicated on the right.
The design
The design was created by Maria Anna Frisone and depicts the Maltese honey bee (Apis Mellifera Ruttneri), which belongs to the endemic animal and plant species of the Maltese islands. The design shows a bee on a blossom and a honeycomb in the background. The coin draws attention to an animal species found only in Malta and captures the work of the bee as a pollinator and honey producer. The name of the issuing country, “MALTA”, is located on the left, and the year of issue, “2024”, on the right. The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Background on the topic
Taxonomically, *Apis mellifera ruttneri* is a subspecies of the Western honey bee, not a separate species. Its development was shaped by the geographical isolation of the Maltese archipelago. It is adapted to the Mediterranean conditions there, including hot, dry summers, mild winters and periods of limited food availability. Such locally adapted populations possess characteristics that do not occur in the same combination in introduced bees of other origins.
Beekeeping has a long tradition in Malta. Archaeological remains of ancient apiaries and installations carved into the rock indicate that bee products were already being obtained in earlier periods. In Malta’s small-scale agriculture, honey bees serve not only for honey production. By transferring pollen, they support the reproduction of numerous wild and cultivated plants. They are therefore closely connected with the preservation of the local flora and agricultural production.
The distinctive characteristics of the Maltese population may be impaired by the importation of foreign honey bees. When imported colonies interbreed with native bees, their genetic composition changes. In addition, honey bees are exposed to pressures also found in other parts of Europe: parasites and pathogens, the loss of suitable flowering areas, plant protection products, and longer periods of drought and heat. On small islands, such influences can affect a geographically confined population particularly quickly.
The coin issue is therefore not linked to a person, a building or a single historical event. Instead, it combines natural heritage, traditional beekeeping and contemporary species conservation. The choice of an endemic animal as a national coin motif draws attention to the particular biological diversity of an island region and to the question of how local subspecies can be preserved in the face of genetic mixing and environmental change. At the same time, the honey bee is a suitable motif because its ecological function is directly connected with flora, agriculture and food production.
Beekeeping has a long tradition in Malta. Archaeological remains of ancient apiaries and installations carved into the rock indicate that bee products were already being obtained in earlier periods. In Malta’s small-scale agriculture, honey bees serve not only for honey production. By transferring pollen, they support the reproduction of numerous wild and cultivated plants. They are therefore closely connected with the preservation of the local flora and agricultural production.
The distinctive characteristics of the Maltese population may be impaired by the importation of foreign honey bees. When imported colonies interbreed with native bees, their genetic composition changes. In addition, honey bees are exposed to pressures also found in other parts of Europe: parasites and pathogens, the loss of suitable flowering areas, plant protection products, and longer periods of drought and heat. On small islands, such influences can affect a geographically confined population particularly quickly.
The coin issue is therefore not linked to a person, a building or a single historical event. Instead, it combines natural heritage, traditional beekeeping and contemporary species conservation. The choice of an endemic animal as a national coin motif draws attention to the particular biological diversity of an island region and to the question of how local subspecies can be preserved in the face of genetic mixing and environmental change. At the same time, the honey bee is a suitable motif because its ecological function is directly connected with flora, agriculture and food production.
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