Anton Caruana Galizia, Kappara
Malta's most beautiful euro coins
Jacqueline Calleja (November 17) is of course right about the religious inspiration of the EU flag and God's sense of humour but I can think of another instance of the latter that is even closer to home.
Readers of The Times may remember the uproar from the local secularist camp when somebody suggested that we should have Mazzuoli's statue of the Baptism of Christ represented on our euro coins. In the end the idea was rejected; but what do we have instead?
Instead we have a cross, indeed the eight-pointed cross of the crusading Order of St John. A more potent symbol of Christianity then this could hardly have been found.
And, incidentally, how beautiful our euro coins are! Speaking for myself, I don't think any other country's are as beautiful.
Noel Galea Bason, our engraver, and the Central Bank of Malta should really be congratulated for them.
As for those who expressed reservations about mixing religion with money, they need not worry. What the Scripture says is that "the love of money" is the root of all evil, not money itself. Money per se is neither here nor there, and Jesus used it too.
4 Comments
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Chris Reiff
Nov 20th 2009, 20:16
Remember that a beautiful coin doesn't have to have religious inspiration.
Joe Xuereb
Nov 20th 2009, 16:12
It is only a coi.n. People used to collect stamps. Or coins. Stamps are now largely redundant because e.mails are better. Coins will go the same way eventually.
The Knights, the Church, Italy. The Knights were in Malta by default. Their crusading ways are questioned by many. As for Italy and it's beautiful art products - they have been advised' by the ECHR to remove crucifixes from public places. And suddenly, even the ungodly - from the loftiest echelons, industrialists, etc. to the lowliest of the low in the bassifondi, they clamouring for the crosses' retention. So pointless to wax lyrical about institutions that are often corrupted and certainly curruptible.
It's only a coin. Strength of sovereignty, like for example, a respected national idiom, needs to hang from a much sturdier hook. A much sturdier hook.
joseph micallef
Nov 20th 2009, 14:59
I do believe that on our coins there should be things that represent us as Maltese. Mazzuoli's statue of the Baptism of Christ is not something created by a Maltese artist, it does not represent Malta - it more than anything represents Italy. The cross of the Knights of St. John, even though not Maltese, represents Malta as it is internationally known as a Maltese Cross - not to mention the great connection Malta has with the Knights. So the Maltese Cross is a fit representation of Malta but not the Baptism of Christ!
R.Gauci
Nov 20th 2009, 14:11
I agree that Maltese with the Slovak Euros coins are the most beautiful in circulation and both carry 2 type of crosses !! I have seen all the other coins in circulation as I deal with a lot of coins in my job so I know what I am saying and even when I was talking with other foreign people from different countries they told me the same!