1 Dollar Bottle-Nose Dolphin, Essai

Palau's 1994 Marine Life Protection series launched one of the Pacific's earliest conservation-themed coinage programs, and this essai — a trial strike submitted for design or production approval — predates the circulating issue by testing die alignment and metal flow before full authorization. Essais of this type were typically produced in minimal quantities, often fewer than a dozen examples, and were not released through normal distribution channels.

The copper-nickel composition here distinguishes it from the silver collector strikes that dominated Palau's marine series.