On 24th May, it was officially announced that the Central Bank of Samoa is going to release a new $10 Tala polymer banknote in June 2019 to commemorate the XVI Pacific Games 2019, which is being hosted by Samoa, starting 7th July 2019. The country has issued a polymer note only once before, and for the first time the central bank is releasing a carbon offset banknote from the polymer substrate.

According to the Governors statement, the new $10 Tala banknote celebrates the young generation of the country along with sports. He further noted that the banknote design tries to represent the daily lives of the youth and their sporting aspirations.

For the first time, Samoa will be issuing a note with a horizontally aligned obverse design and a vertically aligned reverse design. The modern security features are easily identifiable to tackle the issue of counterfeiting. The Pacific Games logo is featured as a clear window with flames colour gravure around the clear window. A mask feature turns into a plain printed green pattern when the note is held against a light source. A pattern of raised dots is present on the notes to help the visually impaired identify the denomination easily. The current version of the $10tala note will continue to circulate along with the new ones as legal tender.

The Pacific Games is an exclusive multi-sport event for leading sportsmen and women belonging to the countries around the South Pacific Ocean. It is organised once in four years and the first Pacific Games was held in 1963.

Image Courtesy: The Central Bank of Samoa