Samoan tālā
| Samoa tālā Template:Sm icon | |
|---|---|
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | WST (numeric: 882) |
| Subunit | 0.01 |
| Unit | |
| Symbol | WS$ (sometimes SAT, ST or T) |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | sene |
| Banknotes | 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 tala |
| Coins | 5, 10, 20, 50 sene, 1 tala [1] |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |  Samoa |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Central Bank of Samoa |
| Website | www.cbs.gov.ws |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 6% |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2007 |
The tala is the currency of Samoa. It is divided into 100 sene. The names are Samoan equivalents of the English dollar and cent.
The tala was introduced in 1967. Until that time, Samoa had used the pound, with coins from New Zealand and its own banknotes. The tala replaced the pound at a rate of 2 tala = 1 pound, and was therefore equal to the New Zealand dollar. The tala remained equal to the New Zealand dollar until 1975.
The symbol WS$ is usually used for the tala[2], though SAT[3], ST[4] and T[5] also appear to be in use as well. Sometimes figures are written with the dollar sign in front and "tala" afterwards—e.g. $100 tala[6] [3].
Coins
In 1967, coins were introduced for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 sene. Except for the bronze 1 and 2 sene, these coins were struck in cupro-nickel. Aluminium-bronze 1 tala coins were introduced in 1984.
Banknotes
In 1967, the Bank of Western Samoa introduced notes for 1, 2 and 10 tala. 5 tala notes were added in 1980 when the Monetary Board of Western Samoa took over paper money issuance. In 1984, 1 tala notes were replaced by coins and 20 tala notes were introduced. In 1985, the Central Bank of Samoa issued its first notes for 2, 5, 10 and 20 tala, with 50 and 100 tala notes introduced in 1990. Polymer 2 tala notes were also introduced in 1990. New, paper notes for 5 to 100 tala were introduced in late 2005. On August 1, 2008 the central bank issued a new series of five paper banknotes from 5 to 100 tala. The two highest denominations are protected with De La Rue's Optiks security thread which features a see-through window. [7]
| Current WST exchange rates | |
|---|---|
| From Google Finance: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD NZD |
| From Yahoo! Finance: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD NZD |
| From XE.com: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD NZD |
| From OANDA: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD NZD |
See also
References
- ^ http://www.cbs.gov.ws/currency/currvalidity/index.html Central bankwebsite on currency issue, Accessed 2008-12-02
- ^ http://www.visitsamoa.ws/samoa/export/sites/STA/travinfo/money.html
- ^ a b Samoa Realty Ltd - Lands For Sale
- ^ Samoa Travel Guide: Overview - Lonely Planet WorldGuide
- ^ Currencies of the World
- ^ :: THE CENTRAL BANK OF SAMOA | Currency | Collector's Currency | Index ::
- ^ Banknote news for Samoa accessed 2008-12-07