World coins chat: Samoa & American Samoa

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Samoa is an independent country in the Pacific not far from Tonga. American Samoa is the eastern part of the Samoan archipelago that has been an unincorporated US territory since 1900. The country of Samoa has a population of around 200,000, with American Samoa having around 55,000 inhabitants.


Flag of Samoa

History
Samoa has been inhabited by Polynesians since around 1000 BC. First Europeans to visit the island were Dutch explorers in 1722. The Samoan archipelago was known as the Navigator Islands because of the seafaring skills of the Samoans. European presence only developed from the 19th century with missionary and trading posts. By the end of that century, the Germans had developed the most commercial interests in cocoa and copra from the islands. This led to conflict with UK and US ambitions in the region, but agreement was reached in 1899 when Germany was awarded Western Samoa, Britain was given the Solomon Islands (claimed by Germany before) and the US were awarded the eastern part of Samoa which is still American today.


The Samoan islands

German presence on Samoa lasted only until WW1 but left lasting positive effects. Under German supervision a road network was built, an education system founded and hospitals set up.

New Zealand took over control of Western Samoa after British warships took the islands in 1914 without a shot fired. Independence was granted in 1962. The country's name was changed to Samoa in 1997.

Currency
Western Samoa used German Marks until 1914, when they were replaced by British Pounds. With New Zealand taking official control in 1920, Samoan currency followed that of New Zealand since with local paper money circulating alongside. In 1933 the New Zealand Pound was devalued by 20% and separate New Zealand coins and banknotes were introduced.

In 1967, the year that New Zealand decimalised its currency for 2 Dollars per Pound, Western Samoa did the same with introducing the Tālā. Until 1975 the Tālā was at par with the Kiwi, but started dropping slowly since. It is currently worth NZ$ 0.57 or US$ 0.38.

American Samoa has always used US Dollars and never had any independent issues of coins or banknotes.

Coins
Samoa's first coins date from 1967 and followed the compositions and sizes of the New Zealand Dollar. Already from 1968 a new series was introduced which lasted, with minimal updates, until 2010. In 2011 a new coinage was introduced with denominations of 10 Sene through 2 Tālā.

American Samoa (no circulation coins):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/samoa-americaine-1.html

(Western) Samoa:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/samoa-1.html
I was wondering, as I cannot find it in the catalogue here, if the 2009 American Samoa quarter is a legitimate American Samoan coin, or if it counts as a USA coin.
I translate through Yandex. All languages are welcome.
You'll find it here
Thanks very much.
I translate through Yandex. All languages are welcome.
Love Samoan coins, I have a few as Samoans live here in New Zealand, and I wa sthere 4 years ago finding Samoan coins and notes.

Samoa adopted decimal currency in 1967 and issued a set of coins similar in size to those of New Zealand with a currency of a Tala (Dollar) made up fo 100 sene. The first issue of 1967 showing stars and lettering on the 1, 2, and 5 sene coins and a shield with the value in words for the 10, 20, 50 sene (Sefulu, Lua sefulu, lima sefulu) and a tala commem. The back showed the Malietoa Tanumafili, the hereditary chief of the Islands. He also appears on the second series of the coins, like the first but with designs now showing fruit, a brass Tala joined the series in 1984 and the coins became steel in the 1990s as copper prices rose.

The last series was issued in 2011 with reduced sized coins in stainless steel (NZ's coin shrinking in 2006, has led to Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Cooks also electing to have reduced size steel coinages). This featured the 10 sene (Canoe racing), 20 sene (Flower) and 50 sene (Manumea - pigeon), the $1 tala was still in brass (Samoan kava bowla nd speakers whisk) and scalloped 2 tala (Arms). I have many of them. Like most Pacific coinages I find, they often appear grubby and worn quickly. It is not uncommon to find coins from the 1990s worn down to VG and even the new 2011 series (None have appeared with later dates) are now found in VF and even F condition.

Malietoa Tanumafili died in 2001, and now the coins show Tui Tupua Tamasese Efi the new head of state.

It is easy to confuse the coins with those of Tonga, which used similar sizes and shapes. These coins however were in seniti, rather than sene (Polynesian languages are all very similar). 1967 Tongan coins look very similar to Samoan ones, with stars on the low values and coats of arms on the higher values. The second series also showed fruit and animals like the Samon coins.

Also these are Western Samoa (Samoa i sisofo in Samoan) coins, American Samoa always used Yankee money not having their own currency. It did not help that in 1996 they dropped the Western and became Samoa.
I love coins

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