1 Dollar Beatification by Pope John Paul II

Palau has issued commemorative dollars continuously since 1992, contracting production almost entirely to European mints — this piece almost certainly struck at the Berne or Hamburg facilities rather than any Pacific-region mint. The subject is the beatification of Pope John Paul II, which was formally announced by Benedict XVI in January 2011 and conducted that May in St. Peter's Square before an estimated crowd of 1.5 million. The coin predates that ceremony by roughly a year, issued in anticipation rather than commemoration.