Information about effigy: Maltese Cross

The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four "V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically.

It is a heraldic cross variant which developed from earlier forms of eight-pointed crosses in the 16th century. Although chiefly associated with the Knights Hospitaller (Order of St. John, now the Sovereign Military Order of Malta), and by extension with the island and country of Malta, it has come to be used by a wide array of entities since the early modern period, notably the Order of Saint Stephen, the city of Amalfi, the Polish Order of the White Eagle (1709), the Prussian order Pour le Mérite (1740), and the Bavarian Military Merit Order (1866).

The Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades used a plain Latin cross. Occasional use of the modern form straight-edged "eight-pointed cross" by the order began in the early 16th century. This early form is a cross moline (ancrée) or cross branchée ending in eight points, not yet featuring the sharp vertex of the modern design. The association of the eight-pointed cross with the southern Italy coastal town of Amalfi may go back to the 11th century, as the design is allegedly found on coins minted by the Duchy of Amalfi at that time. Eight-pointed crosses appear on coins minted by the Grand Masters of the order, first shown as a bolsini-type cross embroidered on the left arm of the robe of the kneeling Grand Master on the obverse of a coin minted under Foulques de Villaret (ruled 1305 - 1319). In 1489, the statutes of the order required all knights of Malta to wear "the white cross with eight points".

The Maltese cross as defined by the constitution of the Order of St. John remains the symbol of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, of the Order of Saint John and its allied orders, of the Venerable Order of Saint John, and of their various service organisations. Numerous other modern orders of merit have used the eight-pointed cross. The British colony of Queensland, Australia, adopted the Maltese cross as the state badge and on the flag in 1876 for reasons unknown, its use continuing through to statehood.

The Maltese cross is displayed as part of the Maltese civil ensign, the Maltese naval jack and presidential standard has a Maltese cross in each corner. The Maltese euro coins of 1- and 2-euro denomination carry the Maltese cross. It is also the trademark of Air Malta, Malta's national airline.

The Maltese cross was depicted on the two-mils coin in of the Maltese lira in 1972, on the reverse of one- and two-Euro coins introduced in January 2008, and on many other coins.