Podcasts · The Story of Malta: The Fortress Island of the Mediterranean — Fexingo History
The Knights' Coinage: Money and Minting in Hospitaller Malta
· 7:46 · S5 E215
Episode The Knights' Coinage: Money and Minting in Hospitaller Malta
Before the euro, before the scudo, Malta's Knights of St John minted their own money — and it tells a story of power, trade, and daily life on a fortress island. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the evolution of Hospitaller coinage from the Order's early days in Rhodes to the bustling mint of Valletta under Grand Master de la Valette and his successors. They talk silver tari and copper grani, the famous 'Maltese cross' coins, and the moment when a debased currency sparked a revolt in 1775. Along the way, they meet the moneyers behind the dies, the counterfeiters who tested the system, and the pirates who spent the coins as far away as Algiers. The conversation also touches on how the mint's location shifted from Birgu to Valletta, how the Knights controlled the value of money in a Mediterranean economy, and what a single coin can tell us about sovereignty, scarcity, and survival. A fascinating slice of island history that's rarely told.
#KnightsOfStJohn #MalteseHistory #Numismatics #HospitallerCoinage #VallettaMint #TariCoin #GranCoin #MalteseScudo #GrandMasterdeValette #BirguMint #Counterfeit #1775Revolt #MediterraneanTrade #Sovereignty #MoneyHistory #IslandEconomy #FexingoHistory #History
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Transcript
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