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1/2 Pa'anga 'Reine Salote'
| Issuer | Government of Tonga |
|---|---|
| Year | 1967-1973 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Dark-brown intaglio print on pink guilloche underprint. A portrait of Queen Salote III is positioned at right, rendered in fine engraved detail, with the Royal Coat of Arms of Tonga at lower left. Denomination and bilingual inscriptions are arranged across the face in both Tongan and English. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Blue and brown bicolour print. A central vignette illustrates coconut processing workers sorting and husking coconuts at an open-sided shed, with palm trees and a tropical landscape extending into the background. Denomination counters marked T$½ appear at upper and lower right within ornate guilloche rosette panels, with the fractional numeral ½ and PA'ANGA at left. |
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| Comments |
Tonga did not establish a central bank until 1989. Through the late colonial and early post-independence period, the government itself issued currency directly — an arrangement that was unusual but not unique in the Pacific. This note predates the National Reserve Bank by more than two decades, and the series it belongs to was introduced just two years after formal independence in 1970, though the issue date range begins in 1967 under British protection.
Queen Sālote Tupou III, who died in December 1965, is commemorated here. She had reigned since 1918 and remains better known internationally for her appearance at the 1953 coronation of Elizabeth II than for the administrative modernisation she quietly oversaw at home.