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1 Tala - Tanumafili II James Cook
| Issuer | Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1970 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Tala |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A finely modelled right-facing portrait bust of British explorer Captain James Cook occupies the central field, depicted with his hair tied in a queue with a ribbon bow at the nape. Stylised horizontal wave lines fill the lower portion of the field, evoking the Pacific Ocean. The legend JAMES COOK arcs along the upper periphery, divided by the bust. The inscription EXPLORER of the PACIFIC is positioned across the mid-field flanking the neck, and the date range 1769-1779, denoting Cook's Pacific voyages, appears in the exergue. The engraver's initials JB are incuse on the truncation. |
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| Additional information |
Issued in the first year of Samoan decimal coinage, this piece commemorates Cook's 1722 transit through the region — though Cook never actually landed on Samoa. His ships passed through what was then called the Navigator Islands, named by Bougainville four years earlier. The decimal system itself was adopted at independence in 1962, but the commemorative coinage program took nearly a decade to materialize under Tanumafili II's joint rule with Malietoa Tanumafili I, who died the same year this coin was struck.