Sparta's inclusion here is a marketing decision as much as a historical one — the Cook Islands dollar program has long served as a vehicle for private mints to issue themed collectibles under a nominal sovereign authority. The actual Spartan state left almost no coinage of its own; Sparta famously suppressed coined money internally for centuries, relying on iron spits as a deliberate anti-commerce policy. The irony of commemorating Sparta on a copper collector coin is considerable.
Sparta's inclusion here is a marketing decision as much as a historical one — the Cook Islands dollar program has long served as a vehicle for private mints to issue themed collectibles under a nominal sovereign authority. The actual Spartan state left almost no coinage of its own; Sparta famously suppressed coined money internally for centuries, relying on iron spits as a deliberate anti-commerce policy. The irony of commemorating Sparta on a copper collector coin is considerable.