Currency

500th Anniversary of the Circumnavigation of the Globe

2022

500th Anniversary of the Magellan-Elcano Circumnavigation of the Globe

Magellan-Elcano - Gold

Magellan-Elcano - Silver

On 11 July 2022, the Central Bank of Malta issued the first coins from the 2022 Coin Programme: two numismatic coins, one in gold and one in silver, marking the Magellan-Elcano 500th Anniversary of the Circumnavigation of the Globe.

The coins were designed and engraved by Marianna Frisone and minted at the Royal Dutch Mint. The obverse of the coins features the coat of arms of Malta. The reverse shows the globe, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and Spanish navigator Juan Sebastian del Cano, and a representation of one of the carracks that arrived at Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain.

The first circumnavigation of the globe was led by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, who was charged with finding a Spanish route to the Moluccas. He was killed on Mactan Island in 1521, but the expedition returned to Spain under the command of Juan Sebastián del Cano.

Type

Denomination

Diameter (mm)

Gross Weight (g)

Finesse

Designers

Mint

Mintage

Silver Proof

 €10

 38.61

28.28

0.925

Obverse: Noel Galea Bason

Reverse: Maria Anna Frisone

Royal Dutch Mint

1,000

Gold Proof

€50

21.00

6.50

0.916

Obverse: Noel Galea Bason

Reverse: Maria Anna Frisone

Royal Dutch Mint

400