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1 Tala - Tanumafili II Captain Cook
| Issuer | Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse description | The central field displays the national coat of arms of Western Samoa, featuring a shield divided into quarters bearing a coconut palm and the Southern Cross constellation, surmounted by a cross, and flanked by two olive branches forming a wreath. A banner below the shield bears the national motto legend FAAVAE I LE ATUA SAMOA. The country name SAMOA I SISIFO arcs along the upper periphery, while the denomination $1 appears in the lower field beneath the arms. |
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| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Issued to mark the bicentennial of Cook's third Pacific voyage, which brought him through Samoan waters in the late 1770s — though Cook himself never landed on Samoa proper. The commemorative program Samoa ran through the late 1970s was partly a revenue exercise exploiting collector demand for Pacific-themed issues, a common strategy among newly independent island nations building foreign exchange through numismatic bureaus.
Tanumafili II, joint head of state at the time of issue, would eventually outlive his co-leader to become the world's last reigning monarch to have been born under colonial rule.