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The Central Bank of Malta has issued numismatic coins in gold and silver depicting an illuminated letter from the L’Isle Adam Graduals. The coins form part of the Europa Programme with the theme 'Gothic' and bear the Europa Star logo.
The obverse of the coin features the coat of arms of Malta and the Europa Star logo. The reverse of the coins depicts an illuminated letter O found in the L’Isle Adam Graduals, which are housed in the museum of St John’s Co-Cathedral. Colour printing techniques have been used on the coins to reproduce the chromatic and aesthetic qualities of the original artwork.
The L’Isle Adam Graduals, which date to around 1533, are considered to be Malta’s finest illuminated manuscripts. They consist of a set of ten choir books commissioned from a French scriptorium by Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L’Isle Adam. These graduals were produced quite some time after the advent of printing, epitomised by the Gutenberg Bible of 1455. This reflects the complexity of printing music scores, which ensured that the production of manuscript choir books – largely using medieval techniques – survived into the 16th century.
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