1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Russian Blue Cat

Cook Islands issued a long-running series of colored cat breed coins in the early 2000s, marketed almost entirely to thematic collectors rather than numismatists. The Russian Blue entry from 2003 was part of that program, produced in limited quantities by a private mint under license and never intended for any form of circulation on the islands themselves.

KM# 1024 is one of dozens of similar issues from this period where Cook Islands' nominal sovereignty was used as a legal issuing authority while actual production and distribution occurred entirely offshore.