10 Dollars 1977, Solomon Islands
| in Krause book | Number: 7а |
| Years of issue: | 24.10.1977 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Chairman: Mr. John Palfrey , Member Monetary Authority: Mr. Jezriel Korinihona |
| Serie: | 1977 Serie |
| Specimen of: | 24.10.1977 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 147 x 74 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
The Sanford's sea eagle catching fish.
The Sanford's sea eagle (Haliaeetus sanfordi), sometimes listed as Sanford's fish eagle or Solomon eagle, is a sea eagle endemic to the Solomon Islands. The "sea eagle" name is to be preferred, to distinguish the species of Haliaeetus from the closely related Ichthyophaga true fish eagles. The species was described in 1935 by Ernst Mayr who noticed that earlier observers had overlooked it, thinking it was a juvenile of the white-bellied sea eagle.
The Sanford's sea eagle was discovered by and named after Dr Leonard C. Sanford, a trustee for the American Museum of Natural History. The first description was by Ernst Mayr in 1935. It can reach a length between 70-90 cm. (28-35 in.) and a weight between 1.1-2.7 kg. (2.4-6.0 lb.). The wingspan is between 165-185 cm. (5.41-6.07 ft.). It is the only large predator on the Solomon Islands. The eagles inhabits coastal forests and lakes up to an altitude of about 1500 m. asl.
The plumage is whitish brown to bright brown on the head and the neck. The underparts are brown to reddish brown and dark brown. The upperparts are darkish brown to gray-black. The eyes are bright brown. Uniquely among sea eagles, this species has an entirely dark tail throughout its life.
The breeding season is from August to October. The nest consists of two eggs.
The diet consists of mainly of tideline carrion, fish, molluscs, crabs, tortoises, and sea snakes, and more rarely birds and megabats snatched from the rainforest canopy. It has also been reported to feed opportunistically on the northern common cuscus. 
Avers:
The original photograph, on which the engraving is based, was an official portrait taken around 1962 by Anthony Buckley in Buckingham palace.
The engraving of this portrait, which was used for the Canadian 1- and 2-dollar notes issued in 1973 and for the 20-dollar notes issued in 1969 and 1979, was executed by George Gundersen of the British American Banknote Company.
HM The Queen Elizabeth II.
This portrait depicts Queen Elizabeth in an evening dress, wearing a diamond necklace and diamond earrings.
The diamond necklace was presented to Elizabeth in April 1947, while she was still a princess, as a gift from the people of South Africa. The necklace was originally constructed with twenty-one large diamonds, connected by links that contained two small brilliant-cut diamonds mounted to either side of a baguette diamond. Shortly after Elizabeth ascended the throne, she had the necklace shortened to fifteen large stones, with the remaining stones being made into a matching bracelet. The necklace worn in this portrait is the shortened version. (From Her Majesty's Jewel Vault)
The earrings worn by Queen Elizabeth are Queen Mary’s Cluster Earrings.
These earrings were made for Queen Mary in 1922 of a central large diamond surrounded by two rows of diamonds set in platinum with millegrain edging. According to Hugh Roberts in The Queen's Diamonds, the large diamonds originally set in the center were the Mackinnon diamonds, one of Queen Mary's wedding gifts. Those were later removed for use in Queen Mary's Floret Earrings, and were replaced in the cluster earrings by another two diamonds from her wedding gifts, these from the Bombay Presidency.
The cluster earrings passed to the Queen in 1953, and she's used them for evening and cocktail events ever since. They are a large and impressively sparkling addition to her earring collection. (From Her Majesty's Jewel Vault)
At top are the pictures of stylized birds. Lower are fish.
Lower, centered, is a ceremonial bowl in the shape of a bird, possibly a hornbill, photo courtesy of Taylor A. Dale - Tribal Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. (collections.artsmia.org)
On the right side (lower) is the traditional Solomon Islands jewelry - Kapkaps.
Santa Cruz tema kapkap is a full-moon style breast ornament worn at dances. The overlay motif is usually said to represent the distinctive stark outline of a frigate bird, but other interpretations are an ancestor depicted with spine and ribs or a caterpillar that infects banana plants.
Diving frigate birds are important because they show fishermen where schools of bonito (tuna) are. Frigate birds and hornbills dating from about 3000 b.p. are shown in petroglyphs in the Poha Valley cave near Honiara.
On the right side )above) is Dafi pearl shell gorget with frigate bird overlay from Malaita Island. Dafi are similar to kina shell jewelry in New Guinea. (Art-Pacific (Carolyn Leigh - Ron Perry): Guide to artifacts)
Denominations in numerals are in top and lower right corners, in words centered.
Revers:
Shell money maker (woman) with traditional pump drill at work. They drilling the holes in shells by it. Mostly, for shell money, they using shells of Spondylus molluscs,
Those pump drills are used for a long time already by shell money makers at Lagoon Langa Langa, on west coast of Malaita island, Solomon islands.
Based on observations going back to Charles Woodford's in the early 1900s, Matthew Cooper described seven forms of Langalanga shell valuables, which vary with colour, bead size, level of finish and number of strings. Bata was traded through intermediaries over long distances, although it was once scarcer than today. (Deck 1934) No longer used for day-to-day purchases, once modern drills were introduced bata became almost ubiquitous in the Solomon Islands, essential for bridewealth payments and other ceremonies. Short strings are also sold as fashionable necklaces throughout the Western Pacific. The processing-cutting, drilling and polishing-is complex, involves the whole community and was incorporated into religious practices. Elaborate rituals (insuring against shark attack) accompanied the diving for shells and collection was limited to certain seasons to conserve supply. Most of the processing was women's work, while males did the diving, long-distance trading and final polishing. Without modern tools, one tafuli'ae is estimated to have taken one woman one month to produce, which gives some idea of its relative value. In polygamous households there was a division of labour, but it is unlikely that any women fully dedicated their time to making bata since they shared many household duties. (Woodford 1908; Bartle 1952; Cooper 1971; Connell 1977).
Woman seated by a thatched building, wearing a cloth wrap and neck ornament and bracelet, making a drill; with shells on the ground; Langalanga, Solomon Islands, 1930s. Gelatin silver print. On rear side of photo is an inscription: "£3 Solomons". Size: 10,4 х 8,8 cm.
From a collection of five albums and a number of loose photographs, compiled by Robert A. Lever and purchased by the British Museum in 2006 through auction. (http://www.spc.int)
Women making shell money by traditional pump drill. Lagoon Langa Langa, west coast of Malaita island, Solomones, 2008.
Lower is the flying fish, symbolizes wealth of Ocean.
The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes of class Actinopterygii. Fish of this family are known as flying fish. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. Flying fish can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of water into air, where their long, wing-like fins enable gliding flight for considerable distances above the water's surface. This uncommon ability is a natural defense mechanism to evade predators.
The oldest known fossil of a flying or gliding fish, Potanichthys xingyiensis, dates back to the Middle Triassic, 235-242 million years ago. However, this fossil is not related to modern flying fish, which evolved independently about 66 million years ago.
Denominations in numerals are in top and lower left corners, in words and in numeral in lower right corner.
Comments:
The notes of the Solomon Islands were prepared by Thomas De la Rue and this portrait is slightly different to the engraving prepared for the Canadian notes. The De La Rue image uses finer lines in the shading of the face and The Queen looks a little more severe than in the Canadian notes.
On 24 October 1977, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 2, 5 and 10 dollars, with 20 dollar notes added on 24 October 1980. The first issues of banknotes depicted Queen Elizabeth II. However, all new series afterwards had her image replaced with that of the national crest. 50 dollar notes were first introduced in 1986, followed by 100 dollar notes in 2006.
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