Rare Silver Proof Malta 2004 25 Liras~Sovereign Hospital Order~2,988 Minted~Fr/S

COIN5555 U.S. AND FOREIGN RARE COINS

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* Extremely Rare Silver Proof Order Of Malta 2004-O.S.J. 25 Liras Featuring The Sovereign Hospital Order And a Low Mintage Of 2,988. Read BelowAbout The History Of The Sovereign Hospital Order;

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (Italian: Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme di Rodi e di Malta), also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order of, traditionally, a military, chivalrous and noble nature.^[5] It is the world's oldest surviving order of chivalry.^[6] The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is headquartered in Rome, Italy, and is widely considered a sovereign subject of international law.^[7]

SMOM is the modern continuation of the original medieval order of Saint John of Jerusalem,^[8] known as the "Fraternitas Hospitalaria" and later as the Knights Hospitaller, a group founded in Jerusalem around the year 1050 as an Amalfitan hospital to provide care for poor and sick pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, it became a military order under its own charter. Following the loss of Christian held territories of the Holy Land to Muslims, the order operated from Rhodes (1310"1523), and later from Malta (1530"1798), over which it was sovereign.

Although this state came to an end with the ejection of the order from Malta by Napoleon Bonaparte, the order as such survived. It retains its claims of sovereignty under international law and has been granted permanent observer status at the United Nations.^[9] The order is notable for issuing its own international passports for travel, postal stamps, along with its formal insignia, often portrayed as a white or gold Maltese cross. The order nominally invokes the Blessed Virgin Mary under the venerated Marian title of "Our Lady of Mount Philermos" as its patroness and spiritual intercessor.

Today the order has about 13,000 members; 80,000 permanent volunteers; and 20,000 medical personnel including doctors, nurses, auxiliaries and paramedics in more than 120 countries.^[3] The goal is to assist the elderly, handicapped, refugeed, children, homeless, those with terminal illness and leprosy in all parts of the world, without distinction of race or religion.^[3] In several countriesincluding France, Germany and Irelandthe local associations of the order are important providers of first aid training, first aid services and emergency medical services. Through its worldwide relief corpsMalteser Internationalthe order is also engaged to aid victims of natural disasters, epidemics and armed conflicts.

In February 2013 the order celebrated its 900th anniversary recognising the Papal bull of sovereignty "Pie Postulatio Voluntatis" formally issued by Pope Paschal II on 15 February 1113, with a general audience given by Pope Benedict XVI^[10] and a Holy Mass celebrated by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone at Saint Peter's Basilica.

*See Below For The Reason Why Proof Coins Are The Mints Best Work.

* Proof Coins Are More Valuable In General Than Most Business Strike Coins, Primarily Because Of Their Lower Mintage's. Overall Proof Mintage's Are Almost Always Lower And For Some Countries Average Less Then 1% Of The Total Coin Production.

* Upgrade Or Start Your Collection Of Proof Coins. Proofs Are The Supreme Examples Of The Art Of Coin-making. All Coins Are Made by Having Blank Discs Of The Metal Struck With Enormous Force Between Dies. This Heavy Blow Impresses The Design On Each Side Of The Blank And Also Rounds The Edge. Proof Coins Are Made Similarly But There Are Many Painstaking Differences From Business Strike Coins. Proof Blanks Are Specially Treated, Hand-Polished, And Cleaned To Ensure High-Quality Strikes. The Blanks Are Then Fed Into Presses Fitted With Specially Polished Dies And Struck at Least Twice To Ensure Sharp, High Relief. The Coins Are Then Carefully Packaged To Showcase And Preserve Their Exceptional Finish. Cameo Coins Have Exquisite Frosted Relief. The Dies Are First Blasted With Hard Particles To Create a Frosted Effect. Each Proof Coin Is Minted With Extra Pressure For The Finish Detail, Afterwards They Are Individually Inspected And Are Not Touched Except With Gloved Hands. Even The Air Is Filtered To Exclude a Dust Free Environment. We Have Thousands Of Proof Coins And A Huge Selection Of Coins And Notes In Our Store.

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