1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Japanese macaque

Part of a broader Cook Islands wildlife series, this issue falls within a period when the Cook Islands government was prolific in licensing commemorative silver dollars to overseas minting and marketing firms — the islands themselves having no mint of their own. The actual striking was handled under contract, with Cook Islands maintaining nominal issuing authority while retaining little operational involvement.

The Japanese macaque, endemic to Honshu and notable for its range extending further north than any other non-human primate, gained international recognition partly through long-running behavioral studies at Jigokudani, Nagano, begun in the 1960s.