Designs by Norman Sillman

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Cayman Islands, 5 dollars, 1987.  The Queen's 40th wedding anniversary.

Wild banana orchid (Myrmecophila thomsoniana) - the national flower of the Cayman Islands.




Mr Sillman's plaster of his design.

He was worried that the client might not like it, since an orchid depends on its colour for its effect.

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A gold 250 dollars was also produced with the design.

It does not clearly indicate the event that it commemorates.

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Tonga issued a special series of gold and silver coins in 1975.

It celebrated the centenary of the constitution.

Mr. Sillman's designs incorporated portraits of all Tonga's monarchs, past and present.




The 5 pa'anga depicts King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV and the constitution.




The 10 pa'anga (left) depicts King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV and the Haʻamonga ʻa Maui (Burden of Maui), a stone trilithon on the island of Tongatapu.

The 20 pa'anga (right) depicts the monarchs of Tonga.

Clockwise from the top they are Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, Queen Salote Tupou III (1918-65), George Tupou II (1893-1918), and George Tupou I (1845-93).










Now look at the sketches here.

I found them in a National Archives PDF showing old Royal Mint documents.

Unfortunately, two of the images were cropped as shown.

To my knowledge, the design showing the parrot was never issued.