quote:
Does anyone have info on what the latin "nil coeleste nisi" means?
I believe it means something like "nothing unheavenly". Probably the personal motto of the Grand Master; they weren't using it back when the Knights actually owned Malta.
This site is the best Latin-English translator online that I have found.
The Order of Malta should not be confused with the government of the island of Malta; they are two separate entities. The Order of Malta has always struck coinage denominated in grani, tari and scudi - the old southern Italian units of currency, used on Malta back in 1798 when the Knights were evicted from the island. From a certain point of view, it could be argued that these coins are the last non-decimal currency to be issued by a sovereign power.
Modern Order of Malta coins used to be listed in Krause, in a separate section just after the island of Malta coinage. But in the past few years, these have been reclassified as "medallic issues" and the listing has been downgraded to the "Unusual World Coins" catalogue.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis