Tu'i Manu'a Empire (c.600-c. 1200), Kingdom of Samoa (c.1300-1904), Independent State of Western Samoa (1962-1997), Independent State of Samoa (1997-present)
Country in Polynesia (c.600-c.1200, c.1300-1904, 1962-present)
Location: Western Polynesia
Capital City: Apia
Government type: Monarchy (600-1200, 1873-1904), Decentralized Monarchy (c. 1300-1873) Parliamentary Republic or Elective Monarchy (1962-present)
Main languages: Samoan
Main religions: Protestant Christianity, Catholic Christianity
Chronology
c. 600: Approximate founding of the Tu'u Manu'a Empire
c. 1200: Tongan conquest
c. 1300: Independence Restored
1873: Centralized Kingdom established
1886-1889: First Samoan Civil War
1889 Joint British-German-American protectorate
1893-1894: Second Samoan Civil War
1900: Western Islands annexed by Germany. Tutuila and Aunu'u Islands annexed to United States (American Samoa)
1904: Manu'a Islands annexed to American Samoa, end of Samoan independence
1914: German Samoa occupied by New Zealand
1920: Western Samoa becomes a League of Nations Mandate under New Zealand
1959: Self-government granted
1962: Independence from New Zealand
1997: Western Samoa renamed to just "Samoa"
Currency
Pound (1920-1967)
1 Pound = 20 Shillings = 240 Pence
Tala (1967-present)
1 Tala = 100 Sene
Note: Since 1962, Samoa's head of state has been known as the "O le Ao o le Malo", translating to "Chief of the State". The position blurs the lines between a monarch and a president, which makes classifying Samoa as a republic or monarchy difficult. The position is elected, and when the constitution was drawn up, it was expected that those elected would be from one of the four paramount Samoan chiefly families (Malietoa, Mataʻafa, Tupua Tamasese and Tuimalealiʻifano), and indeed every holder of the office has been one, but it's not a requirement for the O le Ao o le Malo.
Coins from Samoa in the collection
•2 Sene, 2000 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), bronze, KM#122)
•10 Sene, 1967 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), cupronickel, London mint, KM#4)
•10 Sene, 1974 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), cupronickel, Canberra mint, KM#15)
•10 Sene, 2011 (Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi (2007-2017), nickel-plated steel, Canberra mint, KM#168)
•20 Sene, 2011 (Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi (2007-2017), nickel-plated steel, Canberra mint, KM#169)
•50 Sene, 1974 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), cupronickel, Canberra mint, KM#17)
•1 Tala, 1970 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), cupronickel, Canberra mint, KM#9) Commemorative: 200th Anniversary of Captain James Cook's Voyages
•1 Tala, 2002 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), aluminum bronze, Canberra mint, KM#135)
•1 Tala, 2011 (Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi (2007-2017), aluminum bronze, Canberra mint, KM#171)
Banknotes from Samoa in the collection
•2 Tala, 1967 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), P#17)
•2 Tala, 1990 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), P#31) Commemorative: Golden Jubilee of Malietoa Tanumafili II
•5 Tala, 2002 (Malietoa Tanumafili II (1962-2007), P#33)