Coat of arms of Malta
Coat of arms of Malta | ||
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Shield Flag of Malta: Per pale argent and gules, a representation of George Cross argent fimbriated gules in Dexter Chief | | |
Supporters | Dexter, An olive branch; sinister, a palm branch in vert all in their proper colours, tied at base with a ribbon argent, backed gules and upon which is written in capital letters sable the name of the country in the Maltese language. | |
Motto | Repubblika ta' Malta |
The coat of arms of Malta is the national coat of arms of the country of Malta.
The present
The national coat of arms also appears on the Presidential Standard of Malta.
The various coats of arms appear on passports, excise stamps, official documents and various other uses. Many Maltese coins feature a coat of arms, most notably the second series of the Maltese lira, some Maltese euro coins, and many gold or silver commemorative coins (either denominated in the Maltese lira or in Euro). Coats of arms were featured various times on Maltese postage stamps as well.
Coats of arms between 1800 and 1964
Malta was a British
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1800–1801
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1801–1816
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1816–1837
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1901–1952
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1952–1964
However, Malta had three colonial badges between 1875 and 1964. The first (1875 – c. 1898) showed a white Maltese cross on a white and red panel, the second (c. 1898 – 1943) showed a white and red shield (like the arms of Mdina), and the third (1943–1964) was like the 1898 arms, but with a George Cross on a blue canton on the white half. All three badges were featured on the Maltese state ensigns and the Governor's flag:
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1875 – c. 1898
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c. 1898 – 1943
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1943–1964
Coat of arms between 1964 and 1975
This
A version with a statant guardant lion on the St Edward's Crown instead of the mural crown was also used, and this served as the coat of arms of the Governor-General of Malta.[2]
Emblem between 1975 and 1988
This emblem was adopted on the 11 July 1975, seven months after Malta became a republic. It showed a coastal scene with the rising sun, a traditional Maltese boat, a shovel and a pitchfork, and an Opuntia. All of these symbols are somewhat connected to Malta. Underneath the image the then-new name of the state Repubblika ta' Malta (Republic of Malta) was written.
The Maltese Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff, had wanted to change the 1964 coat of arms since he mistook the mural crown as representing royalty and therefore had no place on republican Malta's coat of arms.[2] Mintoff chose a class of art students taught by Esprit Barthet to create a design to be used on the covers of passports, and a design by Edward Abela was chosen. A final design was agreed upon and the new passports were printed and the design was officially adopted as the emblem of Malta.[2]
The emblem was controversial since it was not heraldic, and it was replaced by the current coat of arms soon after the
See also
References
- ^ "Flags, Symbols and their uses". Government of Malta. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d Bonello, Giovanni (8 May 2011). "Malta's three national emblems since independence – what's behind them?". Times of Malta. Retrieved 28 September 2014.