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10 Tālā - Tanumafili II Kon-Tiki
| Issuer | Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1988 |
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| Diameter | 39 mm |
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| Reverse description | A detailed depiction of the Kon-Tiki balsa wood raft under sail occupies the lower half of the field, with two crew figures visible on the deck amid the rigging and superstructure, sailing over stylised ocean waves. To the upper left, a pre-Columbian idol atop a stepped pyramid alludes to the voyage's South American origins. A schematic map arc in the upper field indicates the route, with the legend RAROIA REEF 1947 to the left and CALLAO to the right, and TAHITI inscribed in the mid-left field. The legend KON-TIKI arcs prominently along the upper border, and the issue date 1988 appears in the exergue. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
The Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947 saw Thor Heyerdahl sail a balsa wood raft from Callao, Peru to the Tuamotu Islands in 101 days, covering roughly 8,000 kilometers to demonstrate that pre-Columbian South Americans could have settled Polynesia. Samoa's decision to commemorate it 41 years later placed the islands squarely within that ongoing debate about Pacific migration origins — a debate Heyerdahl's DNA evidence would ultimately fail to support, though the voyage itself remained undisputed as a feat of seamanship.
Tanumafili II, joint Head of State at the time of issue, would later become sole Head of State and eventually the world's last reigning monarch to have been born a subject of the British Crown.