The Central Bank of Malta will issue a €2 commemorative coin marking the 200th anniversary of the setting up of the Malta Police Force on Wednesday, 16 July.

To mark this occasion, the Governor of the Central Bank of Malta,Professor Josef Bonnici, presented the commemorative coin to the Acting Commissioner of Police, Raymond Zammit.

As part of the bicentenary celebrations, an exhibition of selective memorabilia from the Malta Police Museum is on display at the main premises of the Central Bank of Malta. The exhibition is open to the public during the Bank’s office hours and will run until the end of July.

 

The Malta Police Force is one of the oldest police forces in Europe having been established at the outset of the British colonial period in 1814 by the first Governor of Malta, Sir Thomas Maitland.

By a proclamation issued in July of that year, he set the foundations for the establishment of the Force by ordering and directing that all powers exercised at that time over the administration of police in Malta were to be transferred to the new authorities under established procedures. Thus, from 12 July 1814 onwards, the entire management and control of the police came under the responsibility of the Inspector General of police who received his orders directly from the Governor of Malta.

After Malta was granted Independence in 1964, the Maltese Government assumed all responsibilities for the Malta Police Force.

On its reverse side the commemorative coin features the common €2 symbol while on the obverse side it depicts the emblem of the Malta Police Force. The obverse side of the coin was designed and engraved by Noel Galea Bason and was minted at the Royal Dutch Mint. The coin will be issued in circulation quality in rolls of 25 coins each.

The Bank will be contacting all those who have placed their orders to inform them of their allocation, the means of payment and the dates on which they can collect their coins. The coins will be available for collection from the Malta Coins Distribution Centre at the main building of the Central Bank of Malta.

For further information, the public is kindly requested to contact the Malta Coins Distribution Centre by e-mail to [email protected] or by calling (+356) 2550 6006/6007.