1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Queen Mary I

Part of Cook Islands' long-running miniature gold program, this piece was struck under the authority of a territory whose coinage rights derive from its free-association status with New Zealand — an arrangement that has made it a favored vehicle for commemorative issues since the 1970s. Mary I, England's first queen regnant, ruled from 1553 until her death in 1558, a reign defined by the burning of nearly 300 Protestant dissenters and the loss of Calais, England's last French territory.