9 Tari - Festing

The Order of Malta retains the legal status of a sovereign entity — issuing passports, maintaining diplomatic relations with over 100 states, and producing its own coinage — despite controlling no territory beyond its Rome headquarters since the loss of Malta to Napoleon in 1798. The tari is a monetary unit with deep roots in the medieval Mediterranean, historically struck by the Order during its rule of the island. Matthew Festing, Grand Master from 2008 until his controversial forced resignation in 2017, is among the last holders of that office to appear on struck silver.