Catalog
2 Tālā
| Issuer | Bank of Western Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1967-2020 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Tala (1967-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | At centre, the national coat of arms of Western Samoa within a circular guilloche underprint, flanked on either side by intaglio vignettes of coconut palm trees against a sunset horizon with decorative geometric borderwork. The denomination 'TWO TĀLĀ' and 'LUA TĀLĀ' appears in the lower field, with a single manuscript signature above the title 'MANAGER'. Corner numerals '$2' appear at all four corners against an intricate guilloche pattern. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | a Samoan chief's head visible in the paper when held to light |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the original issue of this note sometime in the 1967–1968 period following Samoan independence, working from their New Malden facility — a house better known for engraved intaglio work on Commonwealth issues across the Pacific and Caribbean. The reprint carrying the "S" prefix before the serial number appeared in 2020, more than three decades after Bradbury Wilkinson itself ceased operations in 1990, meaning the later printing was executed under successor arrangements rather than the original firm.
That gap between original issue and reprint is the genuinely odd thing here. A note design kept in circulation across more than fifty years without a denomination change is unusual by any measure.