Coinage of modern Papua New Guinea

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Australasia and the Pacific Islands.

Papua New Guinea and neighbours.

Papua New Guinea and neighbours.

Papua New Guinea.

From Wikipedia:

Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Port Moresby. The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua.

After being ruled by three external powers since 1884, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. This followed nearly 60 years of Australian administration, which started during World War I. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. It is also one of the most rural, as only 18 per cent of its people live in urban centres. There are 852 known languages in the country, of which 12 now have no known living speakers. Most of the population of more than 8 million people lives in customary communities, which are as diverse as the languages. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically. It is known to have numerous groups of uncontacted peoples, and researchers believe there are many undiscovered species of plants and animals in the interior.

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National emblem.

From Wikipedia:

The national emblem of Papua New Guinea consists of a bird-of-paradise over a traditional spear and a kundu drum. Designed by Hal Holman, an Australian artist working for the Papuan government, Holman was also involved in the design of the National flag. The emblem and the flag were accepted by the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea and signed into law as the National Identity Ordinance. The ordinance came into effect after its publication in the Papua New Guinea Gazette of 1 July 1971.

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National flag.

The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on 1 July 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly, a raggiana bird-of-paradise is silhouetted. The design was chosen through a nationwide design competition in early 1971. The winning designer was Susan Karike Huhume, who was 15 years old at the time.

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INTRODUCTION OF THE KINA

From Wikipedia:

The kina (currency code: PGK; the currency symbol: K) is the currency of Papua New Guinea. It is divided into 100 toea. The kina was introduced on 19 April 1975, and circulated along with the Australian dollar until 1 January 1976, when the dollar ceased to be legal tender. The name kina is derived from Kuanua language of the Tolai region, referring to a callable pearl shell used widely for trading in both the Coastal and Highlands areas of the country.

The original designs intended for the coinage were produced by David J Thomas for the Royal Mint. How, some of these designs were later modified by Franklin Mint artists and engravers, who added some original designs of their own. See: Papua New Guinea: 1975 coinage - adopted and unadopted designs.

From Wikipedia:

In 1975, coins were introduced for 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 toea and 1 kina. The 1 and 2 toea were minted in bronze, with the others in cupronickel. The 1 kina is round and holed in the centre.

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Common obverse.

The common obverse of the coinage featured the national emblem.



The small "f" is the mint mark of the Franklin Mint.

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The reverse of the 1 toea.

It featured a paradise birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera paradisea).

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Paradise birdwing butterfly (male).

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2 toea.  Pterois volitans.

This species of fish has different common names around the world.

It has names such as the zebra fish, the scorpion fish, the lion fish, and the butterfly cod.

The fish has a venomous sting.

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Pterois volitans.

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5 toea.  Pitted shell turtle (Carettochelys insculpta).

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The pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta).

It is also known as the pitted-shelled turtle or Fly River turtle.

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10 toea.  Spotted cuscus.   Spilocuscus maculatus.

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Spotted cuscus.

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20 toea.  Cassowary.

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Cassowary.