MALTA

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THE HOME AND MOTHER COUNTRY OF S.M.O.M. FROM 1530-1798 

Being the last "home" of the Knights of Malta, Malta may be considered as one of the mother countries to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The Maltese Association, conscious of its dual role of being Maltese and part of SMOM will willingly act as liaison for hotel accommodation and historical tours if contacted by S.M.O.M. member groups. 

What is there to see in Malta?

 Malta, or more correctly, the Maltese Islands are a group of Mediterranean Islands made up of Malta, Gozo, Comino. Cominotto, and Filfla, all situated about sixty miles South of Sicily and one hundred and eighty miles North of Africa. Malta, the largest, is only seventeen miles long and nine miles broad and Filfla, the smallest and uninhabited Island is essentially a big bare rock.

 Yet being strategically located, the Islands have acted like a recording calendar of world events for whichever power held sway in the European scene had to have Malta. Thus consecutively the Phoenicians, the Romans the Byzantines, Saracens, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, Castillians all ruled the Islands until the 26th October 1530, when the fiefdom was passed to the Knights of St. John. Evidence of all the rulers have been left here and there and many a historian visits regularly for the various artefacts still in existence in this Island museum of time. From the period 26th October 1530 to 11th June 1798 the Order of St. John ruled its fate and that of Malta and this is evidenced by myriads of Auberges, Churches, Chapels, Gardens, Aqueducts, Streets, libraries, paintings, sculptures, whole towns and cities such as Valletta itself. The Archives of the Order themselves are housed in the National Library well as a million and one other documents kept in Cathedral libraries and even in individual collections.

 Malta coins along the years

 

By Joseph C. Sammut CM KM

 

 Romano-Maltese Coins- It’s surprising to many that Maltese coins can be traced back to the 3rd century BC. In 218BC, the Carthaginian garrison on Malta commanded by Hamilcar surrendered to a Roman expeditionary force led by Consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus. Henceforth the Maltese islands passed under Roman control and began to form part of the praetorship of Sicily and were subsequently granted the status of their own money. Maltese coins of the Roman period were presumably circulated during the last two centuries BC and in their majority were all struck on the Roman weight standard, the bronze As. These coins including those of Malta’s sister island-Gozo- are all in bronze, the only metal Rome allowed to be coined in Sicilian municipia.

 

      

Semis bearing Phoenician inscription (c. 175Bc)

 

Besides the deep religious convictions these Romano – Maltese coins indicate the gradual development of culture in Roman Malta; from a Punic culture, to Punic – Greek, Graeco – Roman and finally to a Latin one. The earliest coins bear the pre-Roman name of Malta – ANN (Gbonan) shown by the trilitic inscription aleph, nun, nun. Later issues though remaining Punic in design have Greek inscriptions – MEΛITAIΩN (of the Maltese) or  ΓAYΛITAIΩN (of the Gozitans).

         

Semis with Greek inscritpion (c.125BC)

 

The Romanization of Maltese culture is finally reflected in the coins issued at the close of the first century BC and which have the Latin inspiration – MELITAS (of Malta) – on its own. After the first century there is no evidence that any more Romano-Maltese coins were struck and, the Roman metropolitan coinage which at the time was current throughout the Empire, became the standard currency in the Maltese islands.

 

                

Triens with Latin inscription (c. 89BC)

 

Medieval currency – Between the division of the Roman Empire in AD395 and the arrival of the Hospitaller Order of St John in 1530, the circulating medium in the Maltese islands consisted of coins of their successive rulers: Arabs (870-1090); Normans (1127-94); Swabians (1194-1266); Angevines (1266-83); and Aragonese (1284-1530). Although no Maltese coins of the medieval period are known to exist either in public or private collections references to Maltese specie can be found in official documents and noTaŕal acts of the Middle Ages. This money is referred to as pecunia e moneta Malte and pecunia e moneta Gaudisij. According to both Sicilian and Maltese documentation the value of these Maltese coins was one-seventh of the Sicilian (moneta Malte que computator ad racionem de septem pro una de moneta Sicilie).

 

             

Quincunx of Gozo (c. 40BC)

 

Their presumed and possible existence, will for many years, remain a vexata quasetio between the historian and the numismatist.

 

The coinage of the Order – Charles V, King of Spain and titular head of the Holy Roman Empire conceded the Maltese islands and the Fortress of Tripoli to the Hospitaller Order of St John on 23 March 1530. After many negotiations and the intersession of His Holiness Clement VII – the Order also acquired the right of minting it’s own coins in Malta.

 

     

4 Taŕ of Jean de Valette (1557-1568)

 

         

Zecchino of Pierto del Monte (1568-72)

 

Throughout the Order’s rule (1530 1798) various gold, silver and copper coins were struck at first in the castle of St Angelo in Birgu and, after 1573 in the Tower of the Magistral Palace in Valletta., At some stage during the rule of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (1601-22) the Order’s mint was installed in a house at the top of Mint street and in about 1788 it was relocated in the Conservatoria, now the Natioanal Library of Malta.

 

Copper Fiduciary  Taŕ  Jean Paul Lascaris Castellar (1636-57)


In 1609 the Order decided to adapt its monetary system to that of Sicily and after that year coins minted at the Malta mint began to conform in weight and fineness to those struck at the mint in Messina. Denominations in the Order’s coinage included the 12, 10.4,2 and 1 Zecchini gold pieces as well as the 20, 10 and 5 Scudi pieces,also in gold. In the silver series there were the 30, 16, 15, 12, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, and 1 Taŕ, the 2 Scudi and 1 Scudo as well as the Carlino Cinquina and Half Cinquina. The copper coinage consisted of denominations of 4, 2 and 1 Taŕ, the Carlino, Cinquina, Half Cinuina, Grano, 3 Piccoli and Picciolo.

 

 

12 Zecchini of Antonio Manoel de Vilhena (1722-36)

 

The Zecchino, called by the Maltese Zekkin or Skud tad-deheb was the standard coin for the Gold coinage. The Scudo ( Skud tal-fidda), the standard unit of account, was equal to 12 Taŕ, each Taŕ being equal to 20 Grani. The Grano was subdivided into 6 Piccioli (Dinieri).
 

         

5 Scudi of Emmanuel de Rohan (1775-97)


The 4, 2 and 1 Taŕ denominations in copper were first minted in 1566 as coins of nominal value or as token money because the Order was then in dire need of funds to meet the expenses involved in the building of the new city Valletta. Similar fiduciary coins were struck in subsequent years and these continued to pass current in Malta at par with Sicilian silver and to maintain their value with local silver coins until 1636 as the amount put in circulation until that year had been more less proportionate to the internal needs of the island. However the re-issue of an excessive amount of similar token money during the magistracy of Jean-Paul Lascaris Castellar (1636-57) caused much hardship and unbalanced the rate of exchange between silver and copper.

 

    

Silver Seige Ingot (1799)

   

Gold Seige Ingot (1799)

30 Taŕ struck during blockade of the French in Malta

 

Currency during French rule – After the surrender of Malta to Napoleon in June 1978 and the departure of the Knights of St John, the French seized whatever gold and silver and precious stones from the Conventual Church of St. John, other churches and institutions. Some of the silver confiscated was taken to the mint and converted into 30 and 15 Taŕ pieces bearing the bust and arms of Ferdinand von Hompsech, the last Grand Master to govern Malta. Following the revolt of the Maltese against the French garrison , the Monte di Pietà, a state-owned pawning institution, was in 1799 stripped of all gold and silver articles to finance the troops. During the subsequent blockade no minting could be carried out due to the lack of certain materials and the confiscated gold and silver of the Monte were converted into ingots, stamped with their intrinsic value and circulated as money.

Currency during British Rule – With the advent of the British Protectorate in 1800 the mint ceased to function and the machinery was taken to the Civil Arsenal also in Valletta. In 1828, after being polished and put in working order, it was sold to the Greek Government for the pretty sum of £100.

 

During the first fifty years of British rule the circulating medium in Malta consisted of the remaining coins of the Order of St John, a pot-pourri of foreign coins Such as Sicilian denominations, Spanish, Mexican and South American doubloons and dollars as well as British coins declared legal current in June 1825. The copper coins declared legal current in June 1825. The copper coins of the Knights were demonetised in 1827 when a copper coin called the British Grain (1/3 Farthing – Il- HABBA) was struck at the Royal Mint for exclusive use in Malta.

         

Il-Habba or British Grain

 

In October 1855 British coins were declared the sole tender with remaining gold and silver of the Order whilst all foreign coins demonetized. Despite this demonetization, the Sicilian dollar continued to dominate the local circulation, until it was finally withdrawn in 1886 when it was demonetized by the Italian Government. Concurrently the remaining gold and silver coins of the Knights were also drawn so that Sterling was placed beyond doubt as the sole legal tender currency of Malta.

Malta’s Decimal Currency – British coins remained legal until they were demonetized in stages during 1971/72, Malta changed over to a decimal currency and abandoned the old British systems of Pounds, Shillings and Pence. The Malta Pound (renamed Maltese Lira in 1983) was divided into 100 cents and 1 cent coins issued 10 mils. The first set of decimal coins issued in 1972 consisted of eight denominations: 50c., 10c., 5c., and 2c., in copper nickel:1c. in bronze and 5m., 3m. and 2m.in aluminium. An octagon 25c.denominations in brass was introduced in December 1975. A second Maltese Decimal set of seven definitive coins in denominations of Lm1, 50c., 25., 10., 2c., and 1c. was issued between May 1986 and November 1987. The common reverse of this set showed the emblem of the Republic of Malta established by Act.No. XXXIII of 1972, also issued a number of non-circulating legal tender coins for numismatic purpose.


  

 

Oblong shaped Lm5 coin issued by the Central Bank of Malta in October 2000 showing on its obverse the emblem of the Republic of Malta and the armorial bearings of the Bank. On the reverse there are depicted two Romano-Maltese coins. Photo: Central Bank of Malta.

A few of the sites in Malta of special interest to SMOM members abroad

(More detailed information on historic sites is available in the Panoramas section)
 

St. John's Co-Cathedral - Formerly the Conventual Church of The Order
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The Grand Masters' Palace - Valletta

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The Armoury

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Fort St. Angelo

 

The Sacred Infirmary

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* These Photographs are reproduced with the kind permission of the

Most Noble Dowager Marchioness Vivien Cassar de Sayn DM.

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