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2 Euro Maltese Honey Bee
| Issuer | Central Bank of Malta |
|---|---|
| Year | 2024 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 25.75 mm |
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| Obverse description | The inner core depicts a detailed rendering of a Maltese honey bee (Apis mellifera ruttneri) in three-quarter view, shown alighting upon a honeycomb structure rendered in the lower field. A large stylised flower with radiating petals fills the upper portion of the inner core behind the bee, symbolising the bee's pollinating role. The inscription MALTA appears in the left field and the date 2024 in the right field, flanking the central motif. The mintmaster's initials MAF appear below the primary design. Twelve five-pointed stars encircle the design on the outer ring in accordance with standard Eurozone coinage specifications. |
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| Reverse description | The standard common reverse design for euro coinage of the second series, as designed by Luc Luycx. A relief map of Western Europe spans both the inner core and outer ring on the right side of the coin, with the numeral 2 prominently displayed in the open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean to the left. The denomination 2 EURO is inscribed across the map. Twelve five-pointed stars are arranged on the outer ring, six above and six below the map of Europe, with six vertical lines in the inner core visually connecting the two groups of stars. The designer's initials LL appear in small characters on the reverse field. |
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| Additional information |
Malta's 2024 commemorative programme has leaned heavily into ecological themes, and this issue fits that direction — the Maltese honey bee (*Apis mellifera ruttneri*) is a subspecies endemic to the Maltese islands, formally described by Friedrich Ruttner in 1975 and now protected under national conservation legislation. Genetic isolation over millennia produced a bee distinctly adapted to the island's semi-arid climate and native flora.
The subspecies faced serious dilution pressure through the 20th century as commercial beekeepers imported foreign strains, a problem Maltese authorities have worked to legislate against since the 1990s.