Gold and silver coins with Mother Teresa portrait

TIRANA, May 19 – The government decided Wednesday to produce gold and silver coins with the portrait of Mother Teresa.
Albania is committed in a series of activities this year which coincide with Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha said that the government would spend some money to produce a series of golden and silver coins with Mother Teresa’s portrait.
It will be up to the central Bank of Albania to proceed. The gold will be bought by the government and will not touch the country’s reserve.
Authorities will also organize a commission to decide on the best graphic to be used for the design.
Mother Teresa’s remains are in India. A previous effort from Berisha to ask India for the Roman Catholic nun’s to be returned by the 100th anniversary of her birth in August failed following an angry reactions from people there.
Macedonia and Albania have been engaged in a dispute over the national identity of Mother Teresa, who was born in Macedonia to an ethnic Albanian family. She went to Calcutta, India, in 1929, and dedicated herself to the service of the poor and infirm, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
After her death in 1997, she was buried in Calcutta and Pope John Paul II beatified her in 2003. Albania’s main airport outside the capital, Tirana, is named after Mother Teresa.
Many other infrastructure objects or institutions bear her name.