Catalog
50 Tālā
| Issuer | Central Bank of Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 2006 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 140 × 72 mm |
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| Obverse description | Portrait of HRH Malietoa Tanumafili II (Susuga) (1913–2007), Head of State of Samoa from 1962 to 2007, at right, accompanied by the National Flag of Samoa. Secondary vignettes include Villa Vailima — the former residence of Robert Louis Stevenson, now a museum — a Tanoa ceremonial bowl (Laulau) used in the 'Ava ceremony, and a traditional handwoven feather fan (Ili, Laufala). Multilingual inscriptions in Samoan and English run along the upper and lower margins, including the denomination in both languages. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of a male performer executing the traditional Samoan fire knife dance (Siva Afi), with seated women in the background engaged in the Sasa group dance. The National Coat of Arms and the flag of Samoa appear alongside the denomination inscriptions in Samoan and English. |
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| Comments |
The 2006 series marked a consolidation of Samoan currency design following the country's 2002 decision to drop the "Western" prefix from its official name — a symbolic break from the colonial-era designation that had distinguished it from American Samoa. The 50 Tālā sits at the top of this series and was printed by De La Rue, who have produced Samoan notes since the earliest independent-era issues.
Security on this note is relatively modest for a high denomination — watermark and security thread only, without the optically variable devices that De La Rue was incorporating into higher-security commissions around the same period.