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20 Tene - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait, Triton Shells
| Issuer | Government of the Cook Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1976-1979 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a highly detailed, naturalistically rendered composition of two Triton shells (Charonia tritonis), a species of marine gastropod native to the Pacific Ocean and culturally significant to the Cook Islands. The larger shell is depicted prominently in the left and centre of the field, its spiralling spire and ribbed whorls rendered with exceptional sculptural precision, while a second, smaller shell reclines to the right. The denomination numeral '20' appears in large raised figures at the lower right of the field. The engraver's initials 'JB' for George James Berry are visible at the lower left near the rim. |
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| Additional information |
The Cook Islands gained self-governance in free association with New Zealand in 1965, and its 1972 decimal coinage introduction was a deliberate assertion of that status — a separate currency for a territory that remained constitutionally tied to Wellington. The triton shell series was designed with local marine fauna specifically to distinguish Cook Islands coinage from the New Zealand coins that had circulated there previously.
The second portrait of Elizabeth II, by Arnold Machin, was adopted across Commonwealth coinage progressively through the late 1960s and into the 1970s — its appearance here reflects the Islands' alignment with that broader transition.