9 Tari - Festing

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta issues its own coinage despite controlling no physical territory — a legal anomaly rooted in its status as a sovereign subject of international law, recognized by over 100 states. Matthew Festing, Grand Master from 2008 until his forced resignation in 2017 following a bitter internal dispute with the Vatican over the Order's humanitarian operations, appears on this issue during the early years of his tenure. The 9 Tari denomination deliberately echoes the Order's historic Maltese coinage struck before Napoleon expelled the Knights from the island in 1798.