The pound was the currency of

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

between 1914 and 1967. It was subdivided into 20

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

s, each of 12

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

History

In 1914, following the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

occupation of German Samoa, the

pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

replaced the

German mark The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...

as the currency of the territory. When the

New Zealand pound The pound (symbol £, £NZ. for distinction) was the currency of New Zealand from 1840 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. Like the pound sterling, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (abbreviation s or /) each of 12 pen ...

broke its parity with the

in 1930 at the beginning of the

great depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the Samoan unit followed the same course as the

. There were no special issues of sterling coinage issued for

. The circulating coinage was originally

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

coinage and from 1934 it became predominantly the new New Zealand coinage. When

decimalized its currency in 1967, the Western Samoan pound was replaced by the tālā, at a rate of 1 pound = 2 tala. For a more general view of history in the wider region, see

British currency in Oceania Sterling was the currency of many, but not all parts of the British Empire. This article looks at the history of sterling in the Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific region. History The British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 heralded t ...

Banknotes

In 1915, the first, provisional notes (dated 1914 but issued 1915) were issued by the New Zealand Occupying Military force. These were overprinted one pound and five pound notes of the Bank of New Zealand signed by Lt. Colonel Logan. Overprinted Ten shillings notes of the Bank of New Zealand were added in 1920. In 1922, Treasury Notes were issued "by the authority of the New Zealand Government" in denominations of 10 shillings, 1 and 5 pounds. These notes were issued until 1961, when the ''Bank of Western Samoa'' took over paper money issuance. The Bank's first issues were overprints on the Treasury Notes. In 1963, regular type notes were introduced in the same denominations.

References

* * *

External links

Banknotes and paper currency of Pacific Oceania
{{DEFAULTSORT:Western Samoan Pound Modern obsolete currencies Pound Currencies of the British Empire Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Currencies of Oceania Currencies of Samoa Economy of Samoa 1914 establishments in Samoa 1967 disestablishments in Oceania 1914 establishments in the British Empire 1967 disestablishments in the British Empire