1 Tala - Tanumafili II

Western Samoa's 1967 coinage was the first issue struck for the newly independent nation, which had shed New Zealand trusteeship in 1962 — making this a founding series rather than a continuation of an existing currency. Tanumafili II served as co-Head of State alongside Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole until the latter's death in 1963, after which Tanumafili ruled as sole O le Ao o le Malo until his own death in 2007, giving him one of the longest tenures of any head of state in the Pacific.