Catalog
1 Tala Johannes Hevelius
| Issuer | Central Bank of Samoa |
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| Year | 2010 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse description | The national arms of Samoa are depicted centrally in the field, consisting of a quartered shield displaying a coconut palm above wavy lines in the upper half, and the Southern Cross constellation of five stars in the lower half, the whole encircled by an ornate wreath of olive branches. A Latin cross surmounts the shield. A scroll banner below the shield bears the national motto FA'AVAE I LE ATUA SAMOA. The country name SAMOA arcs along the upper legend, while the denomination $1 appears in the lower field. The design is struck in high-relief proof finish. |
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| Reverse lettering | JOHANNES HEVELIUS 1611-1687 2010 |
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| Additional information |
Johannes Hevelius, the seventeenth-century Danzig astronomer, produced his landmark star atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum in 1687 — the year of his death — cataloguing over 1,500 stars and introducing several constellations still recognized by the IAU today. Samoa's inclusion of him in a gold micro-coin series has no particular historical connection to the Pacific; these issues were produced squarely for the collector bullion market, where sub-gram gold pieces in proof condition command premiums well above melt value.