Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
January 2022 NYINC Auction 14-16 Jan 2022
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TONGA. Palladium Coronation Mint Set (3 Pieces), 1967. Taufa'ahau Tupou IV. GEM UNCIRCULATED.
KM-MS2. Mintage: 1,500 sets. Struck to commemorate the coronation of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV as king of Tonga. Edge inscription: HISTORICALLY THE FIRST PALLADIUM COINAGE. With original case of issue. Composition: .980 Palladium. This issuance of coinage was the first major striking of any coinage in a majority composition of palladium. Palladium was first discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston and was immediately known to be closely related to platinum on the basis of its hardness and high melting point. Palladium was assigned an ISO-4217 currency code along with platinum, gold, and silver; though unlike those precious metals it was never issued in a circulating coin. Tonga, deriving a significant source of revenue from coin sales, sought to capitalize and offered this set as the first striking of any coin in palladium. This set therefore bears special interest to collectors of Tonga and those interested in numismatic history generally.
KM-MS2. Mintage: 1,500 sets. Struck to commemorate the coronation of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV as king of Tonga. Edge inscription: HISTORICALLY THE FIRST PALLADIUM COINAGE. With original case of issue. Composition: .980 Palladium. This issuance of coinage was the first major striking of any coinage in a majority composition of palladium. Palladium was first discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston and was immediately known to be closely related to platinum on the basis of its hardness and high melting point. Palladium was assigned an ISO-4217 currency code along with platinum, gold, and silver; though unlike those precious metals it was never issued in a circulating coin. Tonga, deriving a significant source of revenue from coin sales, sought to capitalize and offered this set as the first striking of any coin in palladium. This set therefore bears special interest to collectors of Tonga and those interested in numismatic history generally.
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: $8000 - $10000