1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Aquarius Gemstone

Part of a twelve-piece zodiac series released by Cook Islands in 2003, this issue belongs to a wave of novelty collector coins that flooded the Pacific island issuer market in the early 2000s. Cook Islands had by then become a reliable vehicle for third-party minting operations — primarily European firms — targeting the themed bullion gift market rather than any domestic monetary purpose. The embedded garnets are genuine, though their inclusion required custom capsule dies and individual stone-setting, driving production costs well above face value from the outset.