5 Tala - Tanumafili II Tempora Mutantur, Silver Proof issue

Tanumafili II held the position of O le Ao o le Malo — head of state of Samoa — from independence in 1962 until his death in 2007, making him one of the longest-serving heads of state of the 20th century. The Latin phrase on this issue, Tempora Mutantur — "times are changing" — derives from a longer classical tag often attributed to Ovid, though the full line is almost certainly medieval in origin.

Samoa's proof silver commemorative program of the 1990s was largely driven by foreign distributors targeting collector markets in Europe and North America, with limited domestic circulation relevance.