1 Tala - Tanumafili II FAO

Issued as part of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization coin program, which ran from the late 1960s through the 1980s and recruited dozens of governments to mint pieces promoting agricultural development and food security. Samoa's participation reflected the FAO's particular focus on Pacific Island food production at a time when the organization was aggressively expanding its outreach into smaller member states.

Tanumafili II ruled as co-Head of State from 1962 and sole Head of State from 1963 until his death in 2007 — the longest-serving head of state in the world at that time.