This coin from 1976 is FM and struck in matte uncirculated quality. It has been 10 years that the first was found, and no others. The Mintage as 300 and evidently all were sent to the Central Bank in Valletta, Malta. No collector versions of any sort were made and the best I kno is that these may have entered circulation channels as they are of identical size, shape, design and metal that had previously been struck by the Royal Mint - none by them on 1976. Here it is:
You undoubtedly know more about the FM issues than I do, but I'm not sure it's entirely accurate to say that "no collector versions of any sort were made". The Franklin Mint struck the proof sets for Malta in those years, as they did for many small countries. The FM marketed the sets to collectors in the US and beyond. As was common (universal?) the FM used the dies uses from proof or uncirculated set production to strike a couple or few hundred coins for circulation in the respective countries. This was done to add legitimacy to the idea that they were striking legal tender coins for those countries. In the modern era countries and mints think nothing of creating non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) coins but the FM wanted to avoid that scenario.
Generally good points but for 1976 as you said, there were proof sets but no uncirculated coins available. The FM made a very few proof like specimen sets for 1977-82.
Americans couldn't own post-1933 gold coins from 1933 through December 31, 1974, so the FM wouldn't have made any gold coins through 1974, and perhaps it took a year or two after that to gear up for striking world gold coins.
No those are not from the FM. Panzerman, you are absolutely amazing with the gold collection there Sir!
I am surprised that Americans put up with such nonsense. Something you would think happens in China/ Russia.
Well, not entirely excusing it, but FDR (IMHO one of the greatest USA presidents ever!!) got us out of the Great Depression AND WW II by use of rather draconian methods and this was one of them, pulling gold the way he did. We as collectors in much later years despised it but that is the case. We won't go into the types of policies that led us into such straits.
Why won't you go into the policies? Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. https://www.britannica.com/story/causes-of-the-great-depression https://www.britannica.com/topic/Smoot-Hawley-Tariff-Act
Actually the PRC dictatorship encourages their citizens to buy gold bullion and collect AV coins. This policy of course is bad for us, since it increases demand for rare AV coinage, so auction hammer results are insane. The supply can never meet the high demand, esp. world coinage 670BC-1933 One ex. of this, I won a FDC AV Dukat 1633 K-B Ferdinand II 1619-37, Holy Roman Empire/ Hungary in 2015 Warsaw auction for 3100 E in Zloty. In 2022 a MS ex. sold in Slovakian auction for 24K E This is so depressing for hobby. That stupid coin may cost 100K in five year....
Yikes, at some point might want to be on the selling end... I have a couple of updated but still very poor pictures of the OP coin:
Yeah, its astounding to put it mildly how much coin prices have gone up since COVID epidemic. Before 2020/ period 1920-2020 auction records show average hammer prices went up 1000 X fold. One coin I won from Sincona in 2020 for 4500SFs had two old auction tags. One from Berlin 1936 Hamburger Auction. In that event, my coin hammered for 25RM ($5)US! 4500SFs=5KUS So 1000X.
