5 Tala - Elizabeth II First Orbit

Tokelau — three Pacific atolls with a combined land area under 12 square kilometers — has no indigenous coinage tradition and issues collector pieces almost exclusively. This 1993 release commemorates John Glenn's 1962 Friendship 7 orbital flight, timed loosely to its thirtieth anniversary. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth, completing three orbits on February 20, 1962, after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had already lapped the planet the previous year.

New Zealand administers Tokelau and authorizes its commemorative programs, which accounts for the Elizabeth II obverse on an issue with no organic connection to either the issuer or the subject.