Catalog
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| Issuer | Cook Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 2002 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Raphael David Maklouf |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Part of a wave of novelty issues from Pacific island jurisdictions in the early 2000s, when mints aggressively marketed gemstone-inlay coins to collectors as investment pieces. Cook Islands, though a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand, maintains its own coinage rights — a technicality that made it attractive to the Franklin Mint and similar producers seeking a sovereign issuer for high-margin collectibles with limited numismatic standing.
The cubic zirconias are synthetic; only the rubies and sapphires are natural, though of commercial rather than gem grade.