1 Pa'anga Richard Wagner

Wagner died in Venice in February 1883, and Tonga's decision to commemorate him a full century later places this coin in a long tradition of Pacific island nations licensing their minting authority to generate collector revenue rather than circulating currency. The National Reserve Bank issued numerous silver one pa'anga pieces through the 1980s and 1990s targeting the international numismatic market — Wagner shares shelf space in this series with an eclectic roster of subjects having no geographic connection to Tonga whatsoever.