Tuesday Treasure Trove - Samoa 10 Sene Proof

Samoa - 10 Sene
Date: 1974
Mint: N/A
Grade: Proof 
KM#: 15a
Content: 0.9250 Silver
Weight: 6.37g 
Mintage: 5,578
Value: $3.25

Here is one of my newest treasures, a silver proof version of a Samoan 10 Sene coin.  I picked it up from a local coin show about 2 weeks ago for more than it is worth.  I paid about $6.00 for it; roughly the melt value for the coin.  To me, the deal was a trade-off, pay a little less than twice the catalog value for a coin that had a very low mintage.  The mintage, noted above, is extremely low.  To me, it was a sign that I should just buy it.  So I did and here it is for the world to see! 

It has great toning on the reverse side of the coin.  The coin is not in the greatest condition considering that it is a proof coin, but despite it's flaws, I find it quite a collectible and affordable coin to add to my collection.  This is 1 of 3 Samoan coins that I own.  The Kingdom of Samoa is very small group of islands, located west of American Samoa.  It was formerly known as Western Samoa until they decided to change their name, which was opposed by the natives of the U.S. Territorial portion of the island chain.  Just a quick fact; American Samoans are not citizens of the U.S., but instead they are American Nationals, which is a step above permanent resident alien and a step below citizen.  Out of all of the inhabited territories within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal and Territorial governments, American Samoans are not granted automatic citizenship at birth.

Anyway, should you run into one of these coins, you should probably purchase it as the mintage is quite low and it is an odd-ball type coin to own!

Happy Tuesday!