1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Diana Princess of Wales

Cook Islands issued commemorative dollars of this type through licensing arrangements that had little to do with the islands themselves — the coins were designed, marketed, and distributed almost entirely by European and Australian numismatic agencies using Cook Islands' authority as a convenient issuing vehicle. Diana commemoratives flooded the market in the years following her 1997 death, and gold-plated copper-nickel pieces from this wave were produced in substantial quantities for the collector gift trade rather than any meaningful monetary purpose.