Watch List notes:

TONGA. Palladium Coronation Mint Set (3 pieces), 1967. GEM UNCIRCULATED.
KM-MS2. Mintage: 1,500 sets. Struck to commemorate the coronation of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of the Kingdom of Tonga on July 4, 1967 and the first Palladium coinage in history. Edge inscription: HISTORICALLY THE FIRST PALLADIUM COINAGE. With original case of issue. An interesting set that tells several stories, each piece exhibits sharp crisp details and matte like surfaces indicative of heavy die brushing all with varying degrees of a thin veneer of tone.

1) Hau (100 Pa'anga), 1967. KM-25. APdW 2.0165 oz.

2) 1/2 Hau (50 Pa'anga), 1967. KM-23. APdW 1.0082 oz.

3) 1/4 Hau (25 Pa'anga), 1967. KM-21. APdW 0.5041 oz.

The original recipient of this set, Mr. Edwin Stuart Grosvenor, is a renowned photographer, author and the great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell. He has published nine books, numerous articles, lectured at major institutions (Smithsonian Institution, Boston Museum of Science and other venues) and has conducted interviews with the History Channel, CBS News Sunday Morning, NBC Radio Network, NPR and Voice of America to name a few. In the early years of his professional career, he worked as a freelance photographer for National Geographic completing 23 assignments, including his coverage of the coronation of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV in Tonga where he originally acquired the present set and is credited on many images in the National Geographic Vol. 133, No. 3 March, 1968 (copy included) that covered this event. Seldom do coronation issues appear on the market where the provenance can be traced to the issuance date and original recipient.

Estimate: $9000 - $10000