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1 Tala - Tanumafili II Charles Kingsford Smith
| Issuer | Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1978 |
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| Currency | Tala (1967-date) |
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| Obverse description | The national arms of Western Samoa occupies the central field, comprising a quartered shield bearing the Southern Cross constellation of five stars above and a coconut palm below, surmounted by a cross, and flanked on either side by olive branches. A scroll at the base of the shield bears the Samoan national motto in the exergue. The country name SAMOA I SISIFO curves along the upper periphery in large Latin letters, while the denomination $1 appears below the arms near the lower rim. |
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| Reverse description | The reverse features a map tracing the route of the first trans-Pacific flight of 1928, stretching from the United States across Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, and Australia to New Zealand, rendered in relief against a plain field. A left-facing portrait of aviator Charles Kingsford Smith is positioned prominently, accompanied by his facsimile signature below. Inscriptions naming the key stopover territories arc around the design, with the legend FIRST PACIFIC FLIGHT and the dates 1928 and 1978 completing the commemorative text. |
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| Additional information |
Charles Kingsford Smith completed the first transpacific flight in June 1928, crossing from Oakland to Brisbane in the Southern Cross with a crew of three — a journey of roughly 11,600 kilometers that took just under 84 hours across three legs, with stopovers in Hawaii and Fiji. Samoa issued this coin a half-century after that flight as part of a broader commemorative series tied to the 50th anniversary of the crossing.
Kingsford Smith was Australian, and his Fijian stopover made the Pacific Islands a natural issuing ground for anniversary material. He disappeared over the Andaman Sea in 1935 during an England-to-Australia record attempt.