I got this 1981 Tuvalu set for the octopus coin. You might like to get the 9 sided turtle coin. My coins are not for sale.
Thanks for the mention. Here's my turtle coins: https://coinswithbears.wordpress.com/portfolio/turtles/ @Thomas Tosh
Amazing collection! Very impressive, I imagine you have been working on this for quite awhile. thanks for sharing
It's too bad the coins only issues only go back 70 years. Here is a 4 shillings note from an earlier time.
1 seniti 1968, bronze, weight - 1.85 g., size - 17,5 mm, thickness - 1,4 mm, mintage - 500000 pcs. Single release. Ruler: king Taufa'ahau Tupou IV (1965-2006).
50 seniti 1967, copper-nickel, proof, weight - 18,14 mm, size - 34,5 mm, thickness - 2,5 mm, mintage - 5000 pcs. Single release. Ruler: king Taufa'ahau Tupou IV (1965-2006). Portrait of his mother - queen Salote Tupou III (1918-1965).
Note the "DB" designer's initials on the first coins of Tonga from 1967. Those are the initials of Dudley Moore Blakely (1902-1982), a skilled sculptor and painter. He and his wife Elsa ("Judy") traveled to Tonga in the 1950s and '60s as Pioneers (sort of like missionaries) for the Baha'i Faith. He designed the kingdom's first independent coinage. Mr. Blakely was a friend of my family and taught me woodcarving when I was a young teenager. His house here on St. Simons Island, Georgia was full of mementos of their time in Tonga, and had woven Polynesian grass mats on the floor instead of carpeting. His paintings and carvings were everywhere. Dudley was a colorful character and drove around in a beautiful one-owner 1956-T-bird that still had Hawaii license plates on it. One time when we were in his workshop, he showed me a proof set of coins- including gold- which were the very first strikes of Tonga's coinage! He had the original plaster models for the dies in his workshop, too. He died suddenly in 1982 and Judy had to go into a nursing home. The person who had power of attorney over their estate sold their house and its contents, and there is no telling what became of those first-strike Tongan coins. Whoever owns them today probably does not realize how special they are. Dudley and Judy Blakely are buried here on the island, next to my grandmother. I am fortunate to have known them, young though I was at the time. One day I hope to own a nice 1967 proof Tongan coin to remember Mr. Blakely by. Maybe one of the gold ones, if I can afford one.
10 seniti 1975, copper-nickel, weight - 5,65 g., size - 23,5 mm, mintage - 750000 pcs. "FAO". Such coins were released at 1975, 1977 & 1979. Ruler: king Taufa'ahau Tupou IV (1965-2006).
20 seniti 1967, copper-nickel, weight - 11,3 mm, size - 28,5 mm, mintage - 150000 pcs. Single release. Ruler: king Taufa'ahau Tupou IV (1965-2006). Portrait of his mother - queen Salote Tupou III (1918-1965).