2 Tālā

Western Samoa's adoption of the tālā in 1967 replaced the pound at a rate of two tālā to one pound, but the first generation of notes under the Monetary Board were plain affairs, heavily reliant on De La Rue's standard colonial-era house style. By the 1980 issue, the board had enough institutional confidence to commission a cleaner, more regionally distinct series — though De La Rue retained the contract, as they had for virtually every Pacific island issuer of the period.

The watermark security is the sole anti-counterfeiting measure, which was already considered minimal by 1980 standards. Western Samoa's tiny circulation economy made sophisticated security a low priority.