Samoa has a new 100 tala banknote for 2026, and it is not the one in everyday wallets. On 10 September 2026 the Central Bank of Samoa announced a limited-edition, 100-tālā commemorative note marking what would have been the 100th birth year of Queen Elizabeth II, who was born in 1926 (Central Bank of Samoa press release). The bank says the note is legal tender but not intended for general circulation. It is a vertical polymer note measuring 140 x 72 mm, catalogued as BNP132 with the serial prefix QEII, and only 20,000 were produced (BanknoteNews; Samoa Observer).
Why Did Samoa Put Queen Elizabeth II on a 100 Tala Note?
The denomination is the point. The central bank chose 100 tālā to match the Queen’s 100th birth year, and tied the issue to one date in particular: 11 February 1977, when the Queen and Prince Philip visited what was then Western Samoa on her Silver Jubilee tour. The bank describes it as the first visit by a reigning British monarch to Samoa, and says the couple were welcomed by the Head of State, Malietoa Tanumafili II. Samoa is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and the press release calls the visit “one of the most important events in Samoan history.”
Governor Maiava Atalina Ainuu-Enari said the note “recognises the historic relationship between Samoa and Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” according to the Samoa Observer. The project was a partnership between the Central Bank of Samoa and PBN Currency Solutions of Slovenia.
What Does the New 100 Tala Note Depict?
Both sides are printed vertically, in green, yellow, blue and black.
The front follows the Queen through three stages of her life, each engraved from a well-known photograph:
· The 1934 Marcus Adams portrait of the eight-year-old princess, engraved by Edwin H. Gunn for the Canadian 1935 $20 note (Polymer Banknotes)
· A 1951 Yousuf Karsh photograph of the then Princess Elizabeth
· A 2007 photograph by Bill Ingalls of the Queen in her later years
Around them sit the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Apia, a Samoan forest scene, a green sea turtle and an outrigger canoe (va’a) on ocean waves, the Samoan plumeria, the Queen’s cypher, the Samoan coat of arms and traditional Lapita patterns. The governor’s signature sits above the line “COMMEMORATING THE 100TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II.”
The back recreates the 1977 visit, showing the Queen, Prince Philip and Malietoa Tanumafili II, all three wearing the traditional Samoan necklace, the ’ula. The rest of the scene is Samoan history and landscape:
· Fuipisia Falls on the island of Upolu
· “De Arend” (the Eagle), flagship of the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, credited with the European discovery of Samoa in June 1722
· The ruins of the London Missionary Society church in the Sale’aula lava field on Savai’i, engulfed by lava during the Mount Matavanu eruptions of 1905 to 1911
The printer has not been confirmed by the issuer. The dealer Polymer Banknotes attributes the note to Royal Joh. Enschedé in the Netherlands, BanknoteNews lists the same name as unconfirmed, and the central bank’s press release names only PBN Currency Solutions as its partner.
One Cathedral, Two 100 Tala Notes
Here is a detail most coverage misses. The Immaculate Conception Cathedral on the new note is the same church as the “historical Mulivai Catholic Cathedral” on the back of Samoa’s circulating 100 tala (Central Bank of Samoa). Its full name is the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, also called Mulivai Cathedral.
The building changed in between. The original church dated from 1857, was damaged in the 2009 earthquake, and was rebuilt on the same site, reopening on 2 June 2014. The circulating note’s design was introduced with the 2008 series, a year before the earthquake. The commemorative, in the central bank’s words, shows the “restored and expanded” cathedral.
What Security Features Does the Note Have?
This is where the note parts company with the rest of the Samoan series. BanknoteNews records no security thread and no watermark, and gives the substrate as PolySecure, made by Q&T Hi-Tech Polymer in Vietnam. Samoa’s circulating polymer series, by contrast, is printed by De La Rue on its Safeguard substrate (Polymer Banknotes).
The central bank’s release does not list security features. Dealer specifications published after the launch report three:
1. A transparent window carrying the Samoan plumeria, a clear area of polymer that paper cannot replicate.
2. Microtext on both sides, lettering too small to reproduce on an ordinary printer.
3. UV luminescence on both sides, printing that glows under ultraviolet light.
Treat that list as dealer-reported until the issuer publishes its own.
How Is It Different From the Circulating 100 Tala?
Samoa now has three recent 100 tala notes a collector might meet, and they are easy to tell apart.
|
|
2008 series (paper) |
2025 polymer |
2026 commemorative |
|
Catalogue |
B119 |
B131a |
BNP132 |
|
Front |
Malietoa Tanumafili II |
Malietoa Tanumafili II |
Three portraits of Queen Elizabeth II |
|
Back |
Mulivai Catholic Cathedral |
Mulivai Catholic Cathedral |
1977 royal visit |
|
Orientation |
Horizontal |
Horizontal |
Vertical |
|
Printer |
De La Rue |
De La Rue |
Royal Joh. Enschedé (unconfirmed) |
|
Substrate |
Paper, Optiks thread |
Safeguard polymer |
PolySecure polymer |
|
Size |
139 x 71 mm |
139 x 71 mm |
140 x 72 mm |
|
Prefix |
JD (2017 signatures) |
EE |
QEII |
|
Purpose |
Circulation |
Circulation |
Commemorative, not for circulation |
Sources: Central Bank of Samoa; BanknoteNews on B119b, B131a and BNP132; Wikipedia.
The regular note was issued on 1 August 2008, with later issues in 2012 and 2017, and was reprinted on polymer from 8 December 2025 (Central Bank of Samoa). We covered that polymer upgrade in detail in our guide to the Samoa 2025 polymer 50 and 100 tala banknotes. The paper version stays legal tender until it is withdrawn through normal circulation.
Where Does It Fit in Tala History?
The tālā replaced the pound on 10 July 1967, five years after independence, at 2 tālā to the pound. The 50 and 100 tala denominations arrived in 1990 (Wikipedia).
Commemoratives have become a habit since. A polymer 2 tala issued on 29 September 1991 honoured Malietoa Tanumafili II (Wikipedia). A 10 tala polymer commemorative followed in September 2019, and a 60 tala in June 2023 marked 60 years of independence and featured Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, Samoa’s first female Prime Minister (Central Bank of Samoa).
The 2026 note stands apart from that run in its subject, a monarch from outside Samoa, and in its production, with a Dutch printer and a Vietnamese substrate. Malietoa Tanumafili II, head of state from 1962 to 2007, still appears on it, this time on the back, welcoming the Queen.
What Should Collectors Know About the 2026 100 Tala?
1. The print run is small and published. 20,000 notes, of which 1,000 are packaged in a commemorative folder and 125 are uncut sheets of eight notes (BanknoteNews).
2. Local supply was capped. Members of the public in Samoa could obtain only two notes at face value, with instructions not to spend them. The bulk is being sold to international collectors at a premium through PBN Currency Solutions.
3. There is no Pick number yet. BanknoteNews lists it as “PNL”, Pick not listed, so dealer titles reading “P new” are accurate for now.
4. Check the prefix. Genuine notes carry the prefix QEII, the date 2026 and the signatures Va’ai and Ainuu-Enari.
5. Handle it like any polymer note. Polymer resists tears, but creases and fingerprints show, so store it flat in an inert sleeve.
If you want one for your collection, Noteshobby stocks the Samoa 100 tala 2026 Queen Elizabeth II commemorative in UNC.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Samoan money called?
Samoan money is the tālā, divided into 100 sene. The words are Samoan forms of “dollar” and “cent”, and the currency code is WST. The tālā was introduced on 10 July 1967 and today circulates as 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 tala notes, alongside commemorative issues such as the 2026 Queen Elizabeth II 100 tala.
Is the Samoa Queen Elizabeth II 100 tala note legal tender?
Yes. The Central Bank of Samoa states the note is legal tender in Samoa, but it is not intended for general circulation. It was issued as a commemorative for collectors and the public, and people who bought it at face value locally were told not to use it in everyday transactions.
Is the Samoa Queen Elizabeth 100 tala note worth more than face value?
The central bank has not published a collector price. What is on record is that only 20,000 notes were produced, local buyers were limited to two at face value, and most of the run is being sold to international collectors at a premium through PBN Currency Solutions of Slovenia. Condition, packaging and serial number will shape what any single note is worth.
A Queen, a Chief and a Cathedral
The new 100 tala does more than put a British monarch on Samoan money. It pairs the Queen with Malietoa Tanumafili II, the head of state who greeted her in 1977, and it shows Apia’s rebuilt cathedral, the same landmark whose earlier building still sits on the circulating note. For collectors of Pacific notes, it sits naturally beside the rest of our Western Samoa and Samoa banknotes.