1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Royal Wedding, Piedfort

Piedfort coins — struck at twice the standard planchet thickness — originated as a French minting practice dating to the 16th century, used to produce presentation pieces for dignitaries and assay verification. Cook Islands adopted the format for this issue commemorating the 1986 wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, one of the more heavily merchandised royal unions of the decade. The sheer number of commemorative programs generated around that event, across dozens of issuing territories, has left most individual pieces modestly valued despite their silver content.