Malta 1970 9 tari
This specimen was lot 75514 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice Online Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2025), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "MALTA. 9 Tari, 1970. PCGS PROOF-67 Deep Cameo." The Order of Malta, originally crusading knights, ruled the island from 1566 to 1798, when they were evicted by Napoleon. After various vicissitudes, they ended up in Rome in 1834, where they remain, administering various charities. After the island of Malta obtained her independence in 1964, the Order resumed issuing coins but has never been invited back to the island. The Order lacks sovereign status and its issues are classed as fantasies but are still collected nonetheless. St. John the Baptist's severed head is traditionally shown sideways, as here.
Recorded mintage: 3,000 proofs.
Specifications: 9 g, 0.900 fine silver, 30 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KMX-36.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Unusual World Coins, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, May 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction: Ancient & World Coins, featuring selections from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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