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2 Pa'anga - Taufa'ahau Tupou IV FAO
| Issuer | National Reserve Bank of Tonga |
|---|---|
| Year | 1975-1977 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Paʻanga |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV in military uniform, wearing a peaked cap adorned with a badge, epaulettes on both shoulders, and a sash with a decorative order across his chest. The legend 'F·A·O' arcs across the upper field above the effigy. The inscription 'TONGA 1977' appears along the lower border beneath the portrait. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | FAO TONGA 1977 |
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| Additional information |
The FAO coinage program, launched in 1968, persuaded dozens of governments to issue special-purpose coins nominally promoting Food and Agriculture Organization objectives — in practice, many were straightforward numismatic revenue generators dressed in agricultural imagery. Tonga's participation fit the broader Pacific pattern: small island economies discovered that collector demand for exotic issues from remote sovereignties could quietly supplement foreign exchange reserves.
Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who reigned from 1965 until his death in 2006, was an unusually active participant in Tonga's experimental coinage programs of the 1970s, which included some of the world's first official non-round legal tender pieces.