10 Tālā - Tanumafili II Building of the Tigris

The "Building of the Tigris" commemorates Thor Heyerdahl's 1977 reed-boat voyage, in which he sailed from Iraq through the Persian Gulf and into the Indian Ocean to demonstrate prehistoric maritime trade routes between Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and East Africa. Samoa issued several coins honoring Heyerdahl's expeditions during this period, likely capitalizing on his enduring international fame following the Kon-Tiki and Ra voyages. Heyerdahl deliberately burned the Tigris in Djibouti at the voyage's end — a protest against the wars then consuming the Horn of Africa and Yemen.