A circulating triangular coin

Cook Islands

(Map of the Pacific highlighting the location of the Cook Islands, from Wikipedia).

The Cook Islands are a group of 15 islands in the Pacific. On a map, look east in line with the northern tip of Australia, and south in line with Hawaii. The first explorers arrived on the Cook Islanders on frail canoes, thousands of years ago. Tradition has it that over population in French Polynesia (1,156km or 717 miles away) led to the expedition which settled Raratonga, the capital of Cook Islands, around 800 A.D. Similarly, the northern islands are believed to have been settled by expeditions from Samoa and Tonga. Cook Islanders believe that the great Māori migrations to New Zealand began from Raratonga as early as the 5th century A.D.

European interest in the Cook Islands started with the Spanish in 1595. The first British to arrive named Pukapuka island “Danger Island” because they were unable to land in 1764. Between 1773-9 Captain James Cook landed on many of the southern islands, but never saw Raratonga. He named the island group the “Hervey Islands”. Infamous Captain William Bligh of the Bounty landed and is credited with bringing paw paw trees to the Cook Islands. The name “Cook Islands” was given to the group by the Russians in honour of the great English navigator when it appeared for the first time on a Russian naval chart in the early 1800s.

Missionaries arrived in 1821. They introduced schools and written language so people could read the scriptures and they were also responsible for the discontinuation of cannibalism. There had been a notable incident involving an expedition from Australia and New Zealand in 1814 where fighting broke out between the sailors and the islanders with many killed on both sides and the captain’s girlfriend eaten – the only white woman ever known to be killed and eaten by Pacific Islanders.

Early missionaries estimated the population of Raratonga between 6,000 – 7,000. The impact of western contact and diseases was devastating, with fewer than 2,000 surviving by the mid-19th century. Since then, movement of people from the outer islands has built the population back to around 10,000.

France’s armed takeover of Tahiti and the Society Islands in 1843 caused considerable apprehension among the Cook Islands’ ariki (chiefs). The monarch, Queen Makea Takau petitioned the British for protection. Local feeling on this was mixed, with some wanting more direct alignment with New Zealand instead. This was achieved in 1900, the year before New Zealand also annexed Niue. New Zealand mostly ignored their colonial possessions. In 1946 a Legislative Council was elected, allowing islanders to have some participation in the governing of their own country. In the 1960s, with a wave of decolonisation sweeping the world, New Zealand were quick to grant the Cook Islands self rule. The first elections were held in 1965, with the country becoming self-governing, in an “association” with New Zealand. This “special relationship” is recognised by New Zealand in the form of annual aid and by the automatic right Cook Islanders have to New Zealand citizenship, a right also enjoyed by the people of Niue and the Tokelau Islands.

Obverse

The coin is a triangle, facing up, with rounded corners. The Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth is in the centre. Her name is above-left, the country above-right and the year below. Three versions of this coin were produced. The Raphael David Maklouf portrait of the Queen was used from 1987-1994. This version was used from 2003-2010, both in copper-nickel, and in 2015 an aluminium-bronze version was issued.

The most striking aspect of the coin is the shape: Triangular. Numista only lists 26 circulating triangle shaped coins, with a further 64 non-circulating triangular coins. There are another 49 “Reuleaux triangle” coins, all non-circulating – that is, three-sided with points and convex (outward-curved) edges. These are also the only coins minted as triangular. Earlier coins (the most recent of which was a 1/2 Paisa from the Indian Princely State of Lunavanda, issued between 1867 – 1929) were all either round coins which had been cut, or irregular hammered coins. While all of these are interesting, two which caught my eye were from the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, issued in 1552 and 1604. These coins have a round design on a triangle, and are listed as “Klippe”, which Numista defines as “Klippe is a word of Swedish origin (meaning “to shear”) referring to a coin struck by a hammer on an irregularly shaped flan, like a square.”

Reverse

Numista only describes the reverse as “Mortar and pestle from Atiu Island”, as well as having the “$2” above and “HH” initials of the designer Horst Hahne (under the centre of the table). The earlier issue of the same coin also notes the “Kumete table”. Although it looks like a table, and sizes do vary, all I can find are referred to as bowls or roāroā.

In Cook Island culture, the kumete bowl is considered a symbol of hospitality and generosity. It is used for serving food during feasts and other special occasions, and is often passed around so that everyone can share in the meal. The kumete bowl is also sometimes used in ceremonial contexts, such as when offering food to the gods or spirits.

Designs vary, from a bowl without legs, as pictured on IslandCraft.com, to one like a small table, such as this one at the National Museum of Australia. That piece is described as being 14.5cm (5.7in) high and 52cm (20.4in) diameter. It is noted as being from Tonga, although as noted, islanders had travelled and settled between islands in the mid-pacific, including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and French Polynesia. Here is an image of a Kumete / Kava bowl from DigitalNZ.org

The item on the bowl depicted on the coin appears to be a basalt pounder, most commonly used in Rarotonga. The shape and size of this pounder allows for good grip with fingers over the top preventing the hand from slipping but allowing for more force into the pounding. Here is another similar one, shaped at the top similar to the one on the coin. Essentially, the pair is a mortar and pestle, for cooking.

As noted in this description, the traditional method for making kava involved chewing pieces of kava root, rather than pounding it with a mortar and pestle. When missionaries arrived on the Cook Islands, they outlawed tumunu, Atiu’s version of the Pacific-wide habit of kava drinking, but perhaps they also introduced the mortar and pestle, inadvertantly enabling easier preparation of tumunu which was made clandestinely (my speculation)?

In any case, what is your favourite local artefact on a coin? The first thing which came to mind as I wrote this piece was the coal pot used on St. Lucia I wrote about previously. But that wasn’t featured on a coin, it was just related to the location that token was from. Meanwhile, there are plenty of amazing pieces from around the world, such as this Arabic coffee pot, this kookor from Kyrgystan, or the goblets on this coin from Cambodia. But what amazing artefact haven’t I covered yet? Please let me know!