Cook Islands – Ina and the Shark – $3 – 1987(ND) – Pick 1 -Crisp Uncirculated — Ina was the love of Tinirau, the god of the ocean who lived on a floating island. One day Ina jumped into the sea in search of Tinirau, but since the sea was so restless, she was continually tossed back to shore by its gigantic waves. She enlisted the help of some fish to help her swim, but they were too small to carry her, so in her frustration, she beat them with a stick, permanently marking their bodies. This is how the angelfish got their black stripes. Eventually a shark agreed to carry her on his back. For the journey she took some coconuts with her, for food and drink. After some time, Ina became thirsty, so the shark raised his dorsal fin so that she could crack a coconut and quench her thirst. A bit later Ina became thirsty again and this time she cracked the coconut on the shark’s head. One version of the story says that this is how the hammerhead shark came about. Another story says that this is why there is a bump on a shark’s head, which is to this day called Ina’s bump. Reeling from the pain, the shark tossed Ina off his back dove below the waters, leaving her to flounder in the sea. Fortunately, Tekea the Great, the king of all sharks rose from the bottom of the sea and rescued Ina, carrying her to Tinirau’s island where the lovers were finally reunited. This crisp uncirculated banknote would make a nice addition to any collection of sealife or world banknotes. Over the next few months we will be aggressively searching out and obtaining wildlife banknotes, so feel free to bookmark this page and come back often to see the new additions to our collection.