Coins of the Order of Malta

The Sovereign Military Hospitallers Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Malta is a sovereign non-state subject of international law. It is an elected monarchy headed by a grandmaster. In addition to postage stamps, it also likes to issue its own coins. The main motif of the coins of the Order is the effigy of the Grandmaster but also of their patron, Saint John the Baptist.

The nominal value of the coins is interesting:

1 scudo= 12 tari =240 grani

1 scudo =EUR 0.24

1 tari = EUR 0.02grani = 0,001 EUR

1 grani =EUR 0.001

Figure 1: The package of a set of official coins issued by the Order of Malta.

Gold, silver or bronze are used to mint coins of the Order and are issued in small numbers for collecting purposes. In normal communication with the public the abbreviated name S. M. O. M.  (Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta) is used.

Figure 2: Silver coins issued by the Order of Malta in 2020, value of 1 and 2 scudo.

Photos used in this article – private collection of the author of the article.