2 Scudi - Festing

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta occupies a peculiar position in numismatics: it issues coins as a sovereign entity despite controlling no territory, its "sovereignty" resting on a legal fiction recognized by roughly 110 states. Matthew Festing served as 79th Prince and Grand Master from 2008 until his forced resignation in 2017 — a rare instance of a sitting Grand Master being compelled to step down by papal intervention, the first in the Order's modern history.