Information about Noel Galea Bason

Noel Galea Bason is a Maltese sculptor and medalist. His initials on coins are shown as NG or NGB.

He graduated from the Scuola dell’Arte della Medaglia in Rome in 1978. From 1977 to 1991 he worked at the Mint of Malta as an employee with the role of designer and sculptor. In 1990 he designed two Maltese stamps to commemorate the visit of John Paul II to Malta. In 1997 he designed 10 San Marino lire coins on behalf of the Filatelic and Numismatic Autonomous State Company of San Marino. From 1998 to 2002 he designed the 28 sterling silver medals in honour of the Grand Masters of the Order of Malta from 1521 to 1798.

He created works for official visits to Malta by Pope John Paul II in 1991 and 1999, Queen Elizabeth II in 1992, Portugal’s President Mario Soares in 1994, and the King of Spain Juan Carlos.
In 2008 he designed the national face of Maltese euro coins.

Noel Galea Bason became the official engraver and coin designer for the Central Bank of Malta in 1986, when he was entrusted to design the new Maltese Lira coins. He is recognized as the first Maltese artist to design coins for his homeland since the departure of the Knights of St John, filling a role that had been vacant for about 175 years, as British-era coins were minted in England. His involvement with the Central Bank of Malta and the Malta Mint began after he graduated from the Scuola dell’Arte della Medaglia in 1978, but his official role as coin designer and engraver for Malta started with the 1986 coin issue.