Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Cook Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1992 |
| Type | Commemorative banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Central vignette of the legendary figure Ina, nude with flowing hair, riding the shark Mango and clutching a coconut, set against an intaglio-engraved ocean wave background with a rising sun motif in the centre-right field. The denomination numeral "3" appears in teal at upper right within a guilloche underprint of swirling coral and wave patterns in teal and rose. "Cook Islands" is inscribed in stylised script across the upper centre, with "THREE DOLLARS" and the numeral "3" in teal at lower left. A Minister of Finance signature appears at lower right above the title inscription. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Vignette of a traditional Polynesian fishing canoe under sail at left, with a stylised figure of the god Te-Rongo at centre, set against a multicoloured guilloche underprint. An overprint commemorating the 6th Festival of Pacific Arts reads: "6th Festival of Pacific Arts - Rarotonga, Cook Islands - October 16-27, 1992". |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The 6th Festival of Pacific Arts was held in Rarotonga in October 1992 — the first time Cook Islands had hosted the event, which rotates among Pacific nations every four years. This $3 note was issued specifically for the occasion, an unusual denomination created purely as a commemorative rather than a functional currency unit. Cook Islands has a long history of issuing collector-oriented notes in non-standard denominations, and this piece fits squarely into that pattern.
Thomas Davis, who signed the note as Prime Minister, was a Harvard-trained physician who led the country intermittently across three decades. His signature here doubles as a political marker — he had returned to office only the year before.