The artist who designed the 1986 Maltese Lira and the 2007 Euro coins, Noel Galea Bason, has died at the age of 71

He had graduated from the Scuola dell’Arte della Medaglia in Rome in 1978, and was also the first Maltese to design coins for the country.

He was behind special commemorative artistic creations that were presented during state visits to dignitaries arriving in Malta, including a gift given by President emeritus Censu Tabone to Queen Elizabeth II in 1992.

Galea Bason is also the artist behind the Dom Mintoff monument that is found in Castille Square, Valletta.

Floriana residents and artists are paying tribute on social media to his legacy. Among them, Floriana Mayor Nigel Holland said the Floriana community was in shock by his sudden passing, while Deputy mayor James Aaron Ellul said Malta lost a person who gave a lot to the country.

James Vella Clark writes: “A nation’s identity is not shaped only by politics or history books. Noel Galea Bason showed us how it is also shaped quietly by artists. His art was a chronicle of some of Malta's major political milestones and became part of Malta’s visual memory, quite literally, part of our daily lives as he designed many of the coins we carry in our pockets.”