“I know a shortcut hold on to your hat.” Precious snaps her fingers. In an instant, large dark clouds formed, swell and boiled above the tall masts of the Storm Crow. A sudden sustained gust of wind swirled down over the entire ship whistling through the taunt ropes and rattling the rigging. The ship begins to groan and creak as the normally calm Samoan bay swells and lifts the ship as if she was just getting under way. As the crew began to raise anchor electricity filled the air and everyone on deck could feel the tingling sensation on their exposed skin, the next moment there was a sudden bright flash!
“Black birds tend to like shiny things.” ~ The Bloody Raven
The shrills of gulls have returned. The sea smelled different and the sun was just going down into the horizon. When our vision returned to normal, the lush tropical Samoan capital was replaced with a crowded blend of European and Muslim Architecture and the prominent flag of the Island country of Malta. It’s unseasonably warm this time of the year so for your safety I would have plenty of high SPF sunblock and fresh water and maybe put your screen to dark mode. “Nice trick, thank you Precious.” I turned to her but she was nowhere in sight.
The Silver Coin
2023 Malta 5 Euro, Golden Eagle
Reverse; Golden Eagle engaged in battle with a serpent, waves.
Text; · GOLDEN EAGLE ·, · 2023 ·
0.9999 Fine silver, Weight 31.1g.
Diameter 38.6mm x Thickness 2.8mm.
I finally got my hands on a pair of these Maltese coins that I’ve mentioned a few months ago while we were examining LPM’s 2023 Samoa Golden Eagle and considered acquiring the Germania Mint version for a comparison.
And like Samoa, the Golden Eagle is not known to be native in Malta but according to Birdwatchinghq.com three other species have been sighted; Circaetus gallicus The Short-Toed Eagle, Clanga pomarina Lesser Spotted Eagle, and Hieraaetus pennatus Booted Eagle. If there were any Golden Eagles present on the Island’s past they were likely imported by nobles and aristocracy as sport Falconry from other regions of Europe or Africa.
Edge; Reeded.
The latest addition to the Germania Mint’s Partnership Series with the Central Bank of Malta is this classic ancient struggle between good and evil represented by the Golden Eagle and Temptation’s Serpent. The wave pattern on the background sets the stage on the Mediterranean sea, and over the centuries Malta has been often the battleground of a clash of empires for control of this vitally strategic island.
From the artist’s rendering of this coin both obverse and reverse designs appear ‘busy’ with an almost a solid matte-like finish. Now seeing this coin in hand I do enjoy the portrayal and drama of the central figures and theme despite its strong resemblence the Mexican coat of Arms. Closer inspection of the Golden Eagle’s figure detail reveal a bit of oddness with the feathers and contours appearing too homogenous and inorganic.
The field’s wave background is rather course and distracting from the central subject. If this is an attempt like the Guillochéd pattern similar to the current Britannias it is not quite working for me in this case. Would you think this could be improved if the field were a flat BU finish, or even with a mirror proof-like finish? How about a holographic field like the East Indian Company coins of Saint Helena?
2023 Malta 5 Euro, Golden Eagle.
Obverse; Central Bank of Malta’s Coat of Arms between floral weaths.
Text; · 1 oz 999.9 FINE SILVER,· MALTA ·, FIDUCIA FORTIS, 1968, GM, · 5 EURO ·.
Minted by the Germania Mint, Mintage of 100,000 .
Reference KM#247
Moving on to the obverse, we find the prominent ornate Coat of arms of Maltese cross with the detail much better than the reverse. The two knights literally stand out between the two olive and palm branch wreaths decorated with Lily symbolizing majesty and glory, the roses symbolizing purity and harmony, the same theme art as in the Grand Master’s palace.
1969 Malta 1 Pound, Queen Elizabeth.
Front Knight Watermark. St. George Cross, Queen Elizabeth II.
Size 140mm x 75mm
Printed by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, UK.
Reference P29
The take away on the obverse is the same as the Reverse. The textured field makes it appear ‘Busy’ obfuscating the delicate details of the wreath, flowers and the lettering.
In the end, I’m a little disappointed to the quality of the overall design. While the textured fields may be a nice European feature it is just not applied well in this case. Germania mint, it’s back to the drawing board for this one.
The question at this point, do you like this design? Do you think that the 2023 Samoan Golden eagle is better? Or worse? Please comment below.
Back; Marsa Industrial Estate.
Breaking #SGS News!
@buggedout and #silvergoldstackers have rolled out our Layer 2 Token; PRECIOUS. Check out his recent update post on it. 🧜♀️ And Precious is excited about her new coin.
Adding Shiny Silver to my Stack for that big stormy day!
Thank you @punkysdad for loaning me this old banknote,
and thank you friends for joining me today.
The #piratesunday tag is the scurvy scheme of Captain @stokjockey for #silvergoldstackers pirates to proudly showcase their shiny booty and plunder for all to see. Landlubbers arrrh… welcomed to participate and be a Pirate at heart so open yer treasure chests an’ show us what booty yea got!
Related Posts
2023 Samoa 2 Dollar The Golden Eagle.
2021 Samoa 2 Tala The Pacific Mermaid.
1993 5 Lire Malta 430 years in the defense of Christian Europe .
References
My own pictures shot with a Samsung SM-A530W .
P. Image under Pixabay.
W. Wiki Commons.
☠️ 🎃 Page Dividers by thekittygirl. ❄️ 🌞
Sources and Readings
Germania Mint; 2023 Golden Eagle.
Numista; 2023 Malta 5 Euro Golden Eagle.
Numista; Mexico 1 Onza Libertad.
Cameo Raven Brooch from The Black Wardrobe.
Silver Raven, made by ‘Silver to Burn’ Burnie.
Map Background; Reader’s Digest Illustrated Great World Atlas, ISBN 0-89577-988-9, Pg. 138
"Ahh ains nae bluudy Financial Advisor!"