The Valletta 2018 Foundation has blasted the Central Bank of Malta and Maltapost over the issue of a commemorative V18 coin and stamp which, the foundation says, it did not approve.
On Tuesday the Central Bank and Maltapost announced that they would be issuing a joint numismatic product consisting of a silver coin and a silver foil stamp replica to mark Valletta European Capital of Culture 2018.
The coin, struck at the Royal Dutch Mint, shows the emblem of Malta and the year of issue 2018 on the obverse. On the reverse the coin carries a personification of Valletta, a fortresscity, represented as a woman wearing armour.
The silver foil stamp replica and the coin will be available as a set in one presentation case.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, the V18 Foundation said it had not been asked to authorize the coin and stamp.
Expressing its ‘disappointment’ at the ‘unethical’ behaviour shown by the two institutions “who should have known what procedure dictates in such cases”, the foundation said it was reserving its legal rights with regards to the Central Bank and Maltapost.