A copper coin issued by the Knights of Malta at a time of financial crisis after the Great Siege is to make a reappearance - for collectors only.

The Central Bank of Malta said it will tomorrow issue a numismatic coin in gold representing the copper four tari patakka. This coin has a face value of €5 and will be sold at €60.

In 1566, Grand Master Jean de Valette embarked on the building of Valletta. As the Great Siege of 1565 had drained the Order’s treasury, the Grand Master resorted to the minting of thousands of fiduciary copper coins to make up for the shortage of gold and silver coinage.

The thousands of men working on the building of Valletta were given their weekly wages in copper. The copper four tari coin, which was known by the Maltese as patakka, circulated at par with Maltese and Sicilian silver coinage. This parity became unbalanced after 1636 as a result of the minting of an excessive amount of copper coinage.

The patakka and the other copper coinage of the Order remained in use in Malta during the early years of British rule. It ceased being legal tender on 25 April 1828.

The Central Bank’s gold numismatic coin was designed and engraved by Noel Galea Bason. The obverse shows the emblem of Malta and the year of issue 2016. The reverse features a representation of a patakka issued by Grand Master Jean de Valette and depicts a Maltese Cross.

The coin was  struck at the Royal Dutch Mint in 0.999 gold, has a weight of 0.5 grams and a diameter of 11 mm. The mintage is limited to 2,500 coins.

The coin may be purchased directly from the Malta Coins Distribution Centre’s online e-shop facility on www.centralbankmalta.org. Alternatively, one may visit the Malta Coins Distribution Centre counter at the main building of the Central Bank of Malta, Castille Place Valletta.

For more information the public is kindly requested to contact the Bank’s Malta Coins Distribution Centre by email on mcdc@centralbankmalta.org or by calling (+356) 2550 6006/7.