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20 Liri Merrill / Blue Rock Thrush, Specimen
| Issuer | Central Bank of Malta |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972 |
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| Shape | Round |
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|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | MALTA |
| Reverse description | A Blue Rock Thrush (Merrill), the national bird of Malta, is depicted perched with a radiant sun in the background. The date 1972 appears in the upper field, while the denomination £M 20 is inscribed in the lower field. The word SPECIMEN is incused or inscribed across the design, identifying this as a specimen strike rather than a circulating issue. |
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| Additional information |
Malta's 1972 wildlife series was issued shortly after the island gained independence in 1964 and established its own central bank, as the government moved to replace colonial-era currency with distinctly Maltese imagery. The Blue Rock Thrush — *Monticola solitarius* — is Malta's national bird, a status that made its inclusion on a higher-denomination piece essentially obligatory. Specimen strikes from this series were produced in limited numbers for collectors and diplomatic distribution, never entering circulation.