Currency

1st series - Manwel Dimech

1972

1st series - Manwel Dimech

Manwel Dimech

Manwel Dimech was born in Valletta on 25 December 1860 to a poor family. He had a very troubled childhood and, at 13 years, he was sent to prison for the first time. He was in and out of prison various times, mostly for theft and burglary. In 1878, aged 17 years, he was implicated in a case of involuntary murder and was imprisoned for more than 12 years.  In 1890 he was found guilty of circulating counterfeit money and was imprisoned for seven years. By the time he was 36, Dimech had spent some 20 years in prison. However, in prison he reformed himself and learned to read and write, studying languages and reading extensively. Once out of prison, he earned a living teaching languages. He also fought for social and political reform, which prompted him to clash with the Catholic Church and the colonial authorities. On the outbreak of the First World War he was deported from Malta. He died in exile in Egypt in 1921. 

Type

Denomination

Diameter (mm)

Gross Weight (g)

Finesse

Designer

Mint

Mintage

Silver

Lm1

32

10

0.987

Pietro Giampaoli

SMOM, Rome