The Kingdom of Tonga is one of the more exotic nations in the World Wildlife Fund 25th Anniversary series. I nation of the deep South Pacific Ocean, far off the east of Australia and the islands geographically associated with it.
The small nation has an ancient pre-european history, prior to the discovery by Thomas Cooks explorations though out the area. As the only nation in the area to avoid colonization, much of its ancient culture is still intact. In 2010 it became a full constitutional monarchy. Noble Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō became its first rime minister. Tonga, like Japan, adapted to Western Contact and in 1831 organized as a kingdom with a Monarchy that freed its "serfs" and had land reform. Eventually the British put Tinga under its protection, although it was never colonized, nor gave up its monarchy. In 1970, the Protectorate ended, and became part of the Common Wealth. As a side note, the majority of Tonga's financial resources are dominated by the nobility and kingship, and Tonga was named the sixth most corrupt country in the world by Forbes magazine in 2008, just to tell you. Men like to take pictures of Tonga women for some reason
The Humpback Whale is, like most Balaenopteridae or baleen whales (know as a group as the Rorquals ), is an endangered species, nearly hunted out of existence. They can travel 16,000 miles a year. They can weigh 80,000 pounds, and grow nearly 50 feet. They have a complex social life and sing around the globe. Today there is 80,000 individuals around the planet. Humpback songs are poorly understand. They do not repeat and whales of different areas sing the same songs that change over time. Evolutionary genetics is also not completely understood and DNA sequencing analysis has indicated the humpback is more closely related to certain rorquals, particularly the fin whale, although historically was considered a member of its own Genus. Humpbacks feed only in summer and live off the their fat in winter, which is interesting for an animal this large.:
copyright Hawian Humpback Information and Video
The coin is a denomination of 2 pa'anga, .925 silver fineness. It weighs 28.28 grams at a diameter and a mintage of 25,000 proof coins. The 1986 image has the portrait of the Tonga Monarch on the Obverse.
Avoid Gijs Henzen, owner of Munthandel G. Henzen - Antisemetic Facists
Munthandel G. Henzen's (MA Shops) owner Gijs Henzen, is an AntiSemetic Fascist The company, Munthandel G Henzen is a prominent dealer of international and ancient coins on the internet, commonly known as MA Coins. It is owned by Gijs Henzen. You can not trust him, as I leaned previously in dealing with him with several coins that came with damage including a silver 1969 FOA Uruguay coin which arrived with green verdis on the coin.
But more importantly he is a passionate anti-Semite who supports Hamas and the virulent and genocidal Islamic organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hezbollah that wants Jews dead.
It is a moral imperative to remain clear of him and to do no business with this Nazi. If you are Jewish, double down on that. The life you save might well be your own.
Coin Collecting at the Safir House
WWF 25th Anniversary: Kingdom of Tonga: Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae
