Malta: The Intriguing Life Of Marco Polo Features On New Silver Proof Coins

At the age of seventeen, the young Venetian merchant journeyed across Asia at the height of the Mongol Empire. He first set out with his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo, traveling overland along what later became known as the Silk Road. Upon reaching China, Marco Polo entered the court and into the service of the powerful Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, who dispatched him on trips to help administer

his realm.

Born in 1254 in Venice, Marco was born to a wealthy Venetian merchant family, and much of his childhood was spent without his parents, having been raised by an extended family. Polo's mother died when he was young, and his father and uncle, successful jewel merchants Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, were in Asia for much of Polo's youth. With the Byzantine re-conquest of Constantinople in 1261 and upheavals in the Mongol Empire, both conspired to delay the brother’s way home for several more years. Niccolò and Maffeo therefore turned east in order to trade in such things as silk, gems, furs and spices. After spending three years in Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan, they were encouraged by a Mongolian envoy to visit Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, who controlled a huge territory of Asia. Kublai asked many questions concerning European affairs and dispatched them on a goodwill mission to the pope upon their return back to Italy. In 1269, the two brothers finally made it back to Venice, where Niccolò met his adult son Marco for the first time.

With Marco now joining his father and Uncle embarking on a new journey in 1271, he would not see his homeland for another twenty four years. As Khan had expressed his interest in Christianity, he asked the Polo brothers to visit again with priests and holy water. In this aim, the Polo’s sailed to Acre in present-day Israel, and obtained holy oil and water from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem as well as two friars representing the newly elected Pope Gregory X. Failing to obtain suitable sailing vessels for such a long excursion, the party slowly trekked through deserts, high mountain passes and other rough terrain, meeting people of various religions and cultures along the way. This passage would become known as the Silk Road which the Polo’s spent three years travelling over. Around 1275, the travelling party finally arrived at Kublai Khan’s opulent summer palace known as Xanadu, located about 200 miles northwest of present-day Beijing.

In 1292 the Polo’s were tasked one last time in service to the Khan by escorting a princess to her intended husband in Mongol-controlled Persia. Eighteen months later, the Venetian party was finally headed home via Trebizond and Constantinople arriving in 1295. However, once back in Venice, Marco had been captured in battle by Genoa where he was imprisoned. While there, he met the Arthurian adventure writer Rustichello of Pisa, with whom he would collaborate on a manuscript originally entitled Description of the World, completed in 1298. Combined with notes taken during his adventures, Marco Polo reverently described Kublai Khan and his palaces, along with paper money, coal, a working postal service, spectacles, noodles and other innovations that had not yet been known in Europe. He also described enthralling tales about warfare, commerce, geography and court intrigues of the people who lived under Mongol rule.

Altogether, Marco Polo remained abroad for 24 years and achieved great notoriety during his lifetime for his travels largely due to his successful book which became better known as The Travels of Marco Polo.  The book was printed in French, Italian and Latin which provided Europeans with a vivid and unprecedented glimpse into the cultures, landscapes, and wealth of the Far East, becoming the most-read book in Europe. Despite its immense success, many readers refused to believe Polo's tales of such opulent flights of fancy and believed it to be nothing more than fiction. After his release from a Genovese prison in 1299, Polo returned to Venice where he married, raised three daughters and for some 25 years carried on the family merchant business. It is worth noting that it was apparently Polo’s tales that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail west in search of a trade route to Asia, two centuries after Marco Polo’s death and with a copy of the book in tow. In the centuries since his death, Polo has received the recognition that failed to come his way during his lifetime. So much of what he claimed to have seen has since been verified by researchers, academics and other explorers.

The silver proof quality coins are produced by the Royal Dutch Mint at their facilities in Houten, Netherlands on behalf of the Central Bank of Malta and designed by Daniela Fusco. The obverse side features a three-quarter front facing image of Marco Polo as he might have appeared later in his life. In the background is a collection of structures representing Xanadu and to Polo’s left is a compass, symbolising his vast travels along the Silk Road. Along the left rim in a stylised font is the inscription 700^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF MARCO POLO. Just below the structures is the denomination 10 EURO.  The reverse side features the coat of arms of Malta centred, which was designed and engraved by Mr Noel Galea Bason. The crest is encircled with a wide rim and twelve five-pointed stars representing the EU. The text MALTA is placed to the left side of the crest and the year of issue 2024 placed to the right side.

Each silver proof coin is encapsulated and presented in a Malta Coins Centre branded custom case accompanied with a numbered certificate. For additional information, please visit the Central Bank of Malta’s e-webshop.