A fine Bordeaux!
Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech literally got a taste of Malta's first euro coin last Friday and found it...err minty! He was at the Monnaie de Paris, the French mint in Bordeaux which is producing the euro coins carrying Malta's national...
Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech literally got a taste of Malta's first euro coin last Friday and found it...err minty! He was at the Monnaie de Paris, the French mint in Bordeaux which is producing the euro coins carrying Malta's national symbols.
The biting of the coin was part of a short celebration to mark the beginning of the production of Malta's 200 million euro coins which will become Malta's currency in just over five months' time.
Preparations for the minting of the coins have been in hand for months, even as Malta was still in the process of aligning its economy on the basis of the Maastricht criteria to become eligible for EMU membership.
The designs for the Maltese side of the euro coins followed two public consultation processes and some controversy which even made the international press.
The first consultation process was held between January 14-26, 2006 when the public was asked to choose a preferred theme out of 12 options divided into four themes - prehistoric Malta, renaissance Malta, the Maltese archipelago, and the Maltese identity. Three different options were presented for each theme.
This consultation period was held at the height of arguments in the EU on whether Europe's Christian heritage should feature in the Constitution. It was eventually kept out. A private individual then launched an e-mail campaign in Malta urging people to vote for a design featuring the Baptism of Jesus and it was actually selected, along with the Maltese coat of arms and the altar of Mnajdra temples. Sections of the international press spoke of how Europe's Christianity had failed to make it into the European constitution but would make it to its coinage. There was also much local controversy over whether the image of Christ should feature on coins.
But during a second consultation, from May 29 to June 9, 2006, when the public was asked to choose the actual designs for the euro coins from the three motifs chosen in January and - for the first time, the Maltese Cross - the cross got the most votes, followed by the emblem of Malta and the Mnajdra Temples.
The Central Bank of Malta announced the final designs of the euro coins on February 19, 2007. The Mnajdra temples will feature on the obverse side of the one, two and five euro cent coins, the Maltese coat of arms on the 10, 20 and 50 euro coins and the eight pointed Maltese Cross on the €1 and €2 coins. The reverse bear the date of issue '2008' and 'MALTA'.
The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins are bronze in colour while the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are gold coloured. The €1 is silver in the middle with a gold rim, while the €2 is smaller and is gold coloured in the middle but has a silver rim.
The coins were designed by local engraver Noel Galea Bason. The Monnaie de Paris was awarded the contract to mint the coins and once the designs were approved by the EU several samples have travelled between the Central Bank and Bordeaux since March as plaster models and then the brass models (the master dies engraved with the obverse and reverse designs of the coin used for striking) were completed.
The coins are made of copper and Nordic gold in 12 production stages which are highly mechanised.
They are: the cutting of blanks, the rimming of the blanks, annealing, copper plating, washing and drying, sorting and counting, storage of blanks, rings, striking of coins packing, storage of coins and dispatch.
The blank is the circle of metal which is subsequently coined or struck. These blanks are cut out of a strip of metal rolled into a coil to make blanks of 1, 2 and 5 euro cents.
Rimming entails hardening the edge of the blank by crushing it, giving a smooth raised edge around the coin making it easier to centre the blank when striking. In the process called annealing the blanks, hardened by rimming, are softened after annealing in a furnace.
The steel blanks are then covered with a layer of copper by electrolysis (copper is deposited by dipping in a liquid conducting electricity). The copper blanks are degreased, then dried and the finished blanks are struck or stored.
The blank is struck between a pair of coining dies on a press.
Two-coloured coins of 1 and 2 euros are made of a ring and a core. The process allows for assembly of the ring and core simultaneously when striking the coin. The struck coins are then put into rolls and boxes and dispatched to the central bank which releases them for circulation to the consumers.
The countries which currently have euro currency are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Slovenia and the Vatican. Cyprus will join Malta in their introduction in January.
The biting of the coin was part of a short celebration to mark the beginning of the production of Malta's 200 million euro coins which will become Malta's currency in just over five months' time.
Preparations for the minting of the coins have been in hand for months, even as Malta was still in the process of aligning its economy on the basis of the Maastricht criteria to become eligible for EMU membership.
The designs for the Maltese side of the euro coins followed two public consultation processes and some controversy which even made the international press.
The first consultation process was held between January 14-26, 2006 when the public was asked to choose a preferred theme out of 12 options divided into four themes - prehistoric Malta, renaissance Malta, the Maltese archipelago, and the Maltese identity. Three different options were presented for each theme.
This consultation period was held at the height of arguments in the EU on whether Europe's Christian heritage should feature in the Constitution. It was eventually kept out. A private individual then launched an e-mail campaign in Malta urging people to vote for a design featuring the Baptism of Jesus and it was actually selected, along with the Maltese coat of arms and the altar of Mnajdra temples. Sections of the international press spoke of how Europe's Christianity had failed to make it into the European constitution but would make it to its coinage. There was also much local controversy over whether the image of Christ should feature on coins.
But during a second consultation, from May 29 to June 9, 2006, when the public was asked to choose the actual designs for the euro coins from the three motifs chosen in January and - for the first time, the Maltese Cross - the cross got the most votes, followed by the emblem of Malta and the Mnajdra Temples.
The Central Bank of Malta announced the final designs of the euro coins on February 19, 2007. The Mnajdra temples will feature on the obverse side of the one, two and five euro cent coins, the Maltese coat of arms on the 10, 20 and 50 euro coins and the eight pointed Maltese Cross on the €1 and €2 coins. The reverse bear the date of issue '2008' and 'MALTA'.
The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins are bronze in colour while the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are gold coloured. The €1 is silver in the middle with a gold rim, while the €2 is smaller and is gold coloured in the middle but has a silver rim.
The coins were designed by local engraver Noel Galea Bason. The Monnaie de Paris was awarded the contract to mint the coins and once the designs were approved by the EU several samples have travelled between the Central Bank and Bordeaux since March as plaster models and then the brass models (the master dies engraved with the obverse and reverse designs of the coin used for striking) were completed.
The coins are made of copper and Nordic gold in 12 production stages which are highly mechanised.
They are: the cutting of blanks, the rimming of the blanks, annealing, copper plating, washing and drying, sorting and counting, storage of blanks, rings, striking of coins packing, storage of coins and dispatch.
The blank is the circle of metal which is subsequently coined or struck. These blanks are cut out of a strip of metal rolled into a coil to make blanks of 1, 2 and 5 euro cents.
Rimming entails hardening the edge of the blank by crushing it, giving a smooth raised edge around the coin making it easier to centre the blank when striking. In the process called annealing the blanks, hardened by rimming, are softened after annealing in a furnace.
The steel blanks are then covered with a layer of copper by electrolysis (copper is deposited by dipping in a liquid conducting electricity). The copper blanks are degreased, then dried and the finished blanks are struck or stored.
The blank is struck between a pair of coining dies on a press.
Two-coloured coins of 1 and 2 euros are made of a ring and a core. The process allows for assembly of the ring and core simultaneously when striking the coin. The struck coins are then put into rolls and boxes and dispatched to the central bank which releases them for circulation to the consumers.
The countries which currently have euro currency are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Slovenia and the Vatican. Cyprus will join Malta in their introduction in January.