10 Pa'anga - Taufa'ahau Tupou IV 'La Princesa'

The "La Princesa" title references the Spanish Manila galleon lost in 1762 during the Seven Years' War, when British forces seized Manila and disrupted Pacific trade routes that had connected Asia and the Americas for nearly two centuries. Tonga issued a series of small gold pieces in the late 1990s commemorating historic Pacific vessels, this being among them. Tupou IV's reign saw an aggressive commemorative program aimed squarely at the collector market rather than circulation.