1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Drill Monkey

The "Drill Monkey" dollar is part of a sprawling Cook Islands wildlife series produced through the New Zealand Mint in the 1990s, largely targeting the collector and novelty markets rather than any genuine circulation need. Cook Islands has long leveraged its constitutional relationship with New Zealand to issue commemorative coinage with legal tender status — a common arrangement among Pacific micro-states that generates revenue without the coins ever seeing a cash register.

The drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is native to central African rainforests, bearing no particular connection to the Cook Islands.