Central Bank of Malta Launches Numismatic Coin Programme

• A silver numismatic coin commemorating the 400^th anniversary of the inauguration of the Wignacourt Aqueduct will be issued in January 2015.
• A gold and silver numismatic coin issued under the Europa Coin Programme which in 2015 is dedicated to the fall of the Iron Curtain. The Maltese coins feature the Bush-Gorbachev summit held in Malta in 1989. They will be issued in February 2015.
• A EUR2 commemorative coin marking an important milestone in Maltese aviation history - the centenary of the first air flight by a sea plane from Malta. The coin will be issued in rolls of 25 coins each as well as individually in coin cards. This coin will be issued in March 2015.
• A gold numismatic coin commemorating Saint Pope John Paul II will be issued in April 2015 on the tenth anniversary of his death.
• A coin set dated 2015, consisting of the eight Maltese euro circulation coins, a EUR2 commemorative coin, which is the last in a series of five coins featuring Milestones in Malta's Constitutional History, and a replica coin from the Norman period. This set will be issued in May 2015.
• A gold and silver numismatic coin featuring the fa?ade of the Auberge de Baviere, which is the fifth in the series on Auberges of the Knights of the Order of St John and which will be issued in June 2015.
• A silver numismatic coin, commemorating the 450^th anniversary of the Great Siege of Malta, which will be issued in August 2015.
• A EUR2 commemorative coin relating to Malta's constitutional history bearing the inscription Republic, 1974 to be issued both in proof quality as well as in rolls of 25 coins each. This coin will be issued in September 2015.
• A gold numismatic coin which is a reproduction of a Third Farthing (a twelfth of a penny) that circulated in Malta during the British period. This will be issued under the "Smallest Gold Coins in the World" Programme in October 2015.
• A EUR2 commemorative coin commemorating the 30^th Anniversary of the adoption of the European flag as the official emblem of the European Union. This coin will have a common design which will be issued in all the euro area countries. The issue date has still to be set.

In conjunction with the launch of its 2015 coin programme, the Bank hosted a symposium, From the Great Siege to the Cold War, on 30 January 2015, chaired by Prof. Henry Frendo. A panel of experts made presentations on topics related to the themes of the coin programme. The Governor of the Central Bank of Malta, Prof. Josef Bonnici, concluded the event with reflections on the successful economic developments that substituted military activity and on the contribution of the financial sector to the stability of the Maltese economy. He also noted the potential of Malta to fulfil its role as a facilitator of regional development, offering the provision of financial and other high value added services to the Mediterranean region and beyond.