2020-03-13 Fri

The Cook Islands is a self-governing nation in the South Pacific, in free association with New Zealand. Its 15 islands are scattered over a vast area. The country is renowned for its many snorkeling and scuba-diving sites. Although the region primarily uses the New Zealand dollar, the Cook Islands issued its own distinctive currency in 1987 and coins were minted from 1972.

The note depicted alongside is a 3 Dollars banknote issued in 1987. The obverse has a nude Ina riding on a shark and the reverse depicts a fishing canoe and the God of Te-Rongo to right.

The story behind this banknote is a hilarious one: According to a legend, the shark was helping the woman search for her beloved one who was lost at sea. She took along coconut and when she got thirsty; she cracked it open and drank the milk.

Soon after, she needed to pee so she relieved herself right on the shark’s back! This made the shark angry; he threw the woman into the ocean to drown. Another version says that after cracking the coconut on the sharks head, the shark became so angry that he ate her so she never made it to her destination.

Image Source: colnect.com