Catalog
1 Pa'anga - Salote Tupou III
| Issuer | Government of Tonga |
|---|---|
| Year | 1967 |
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| Diameter | 38.5 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The crowned Royal Arms of Tonga occupies the central field, featuring a quartered shield with six-pointed stars, a crown, a dove, and crossed swords and sceptre, flanked by two Tongan national flags bearing a cross. A laurel wreath surmounts the shield above the royal crown. A scroll below the shield bears the motto MO TONGA KO HOKU with the names KOFOTUIA and TOFUA flanking it. The denomination PA'ANGA curves along the upper legend and TONGA appears prominently at the base. |
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| Additional information |
Issued the year of Queen Salote's death — she died in December 1965, but commemorative and transitional coinage bearing her effigy continued to appear through 1967 as Tonga prepared for formal independence, which it would not achieve until 1970. Salote had reigned since 1918 and was internationally known largely from her open-carriage appearance at Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation, where she remained uncovered in the rain throughout the procession.
This was among the last issues under the Government of Tonga before the coinage authority was restructured under the newly independent kingdom.