Samoa’s first dollar coin: the 1967 $1 tālā — Malietoa Tanumafili II with the national arms, edge-lettered “DECIMAL CURRENCY INTRODUCED 10 JULY 1967”.
History
- The 1967 $1 (KM#7) topped the seven-coin first decimal series that replaced New Zealand currency.
- Obverse: Malietoa Tanumafili II, head of state from 1962 to 2007. Reverse: the national arms, “TASI LE TALA”.
- The edge carries the series’ birth certificate: “DECIMAL CURRENCY INTRODUCED 10 JULY 1967”.
- Struck at the Royal Mint, London.
Key dates & varieties
- 1967 only for this cupro-nickel type. The 1974 Berry redesign put a palm tree on the $1; the 1984 issue made it seven-sided aluminum-bronze.
Specifications
- Cupro-nickel, about 38.7 mm — crown-sized.
Collector notes
- One-year type — the stopper of the 1967 set.
- Read the edge: the lettering is the authentication tell, and worn edges discount hard.