Majority Representation 1887

A triumphant crowd in front of the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta. Along the upper rim of the inner ring, arranged in a semicircle, the inscription “MALTA – Majority representation 1887”; along the lower rim, the year “2012”.

This 2-euro commemorative coin exists in two varieties. The 2-euro commemorative coins in the ST coin set were struck at the Dutch mint in Utrecht and therefore carry that mint's mark (MT-12 G3). The other coins carry no mintmark (MT-12 G2).

In the late 19th century, Malta was a British crown colony whose political development was marked by an ongoing struggle between the local population and the colonial administration. The introduction of majority voting rights in 1887 marked a decisive turning point in Maltese constitutional history: for the first time, Maltese citizens gained the right to elect representatives to a colonial legislative body by majority principle. This step was the result of years of political pressure and stands in a long line of struggles for self-government that deeply shaped 19th-century Maltese society. The Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta, for centuries the seat of both secular and spiritual power on the island, formed the symbolic centre of public and political life.

The reform year of 1887 is thus not an isolated date but part of a broader constitutional process that gradually led Malta towards parliamentary participation - even though full independence followed only in 1964. The series "Constitutional History of Malta", to which this Maltese 2-euro commemorative coin from 2012 belongs, focuses precisely on this line of development and brings key moments of the island state's political emancipation into public awareness. For collectors of Maltese euro coins and those interested in Mediterranean history, the issue documents a moment when the people of Malta first gained collective political weight.