Malta's commemoration here is pointed: the island suffered one of the most sustained aerial bombardments of the entire war, enduring over 3,000 air raids between 1940 and 1942. The George Cross, awarded collectively to the Maltese people by King George VI in April 1942, was an almost unprecedented recognition of civilian endurance under siege. Supply convoys, most critically Operation Pedestal in August 1942, broke through Axis blockades at enormous cost to keep the island from surrendering.
KM#213 was struck at the Kremnica Mint in Slovakia, which has produced a significant portion of Malta's modern commemorative program since the country joined the euro zone in 2008.
Malta's commemoration here is pointed: the island suffered one of the most sustained aerial bombardments of the entire war, enduring over 3,000 air raids between 1940 and 1942. The George Cross, awarded collectively to the Maltese people by King George VI in April 1942, was an almost unprecedented recognition of civilian endurance under siege. Supply convoys, most critically Operation Pedestal in August 1942, broke through Axis blockades at enormous cost to keep the island from surrendering.
KM#213 was struck at the Kremnica Mint in Slovakia, which has produced a significant portion of Malta's modern commemorative program since the country joined the euro zone in 2008.