1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Uruguay Amethyst

Fiji has issued Elizabeth II coinage since independence, but by 2012 the Reserve Bank had pivoted heavily toward the collector market, producing themed silver issues with little connection to domestic monetary circulation. This piece belongs to a wave of numismatic product — commissioned rather than circulated — aimed squarely at the gemstone insert collector segment that dominated Pacific island mint output during this period.

The amethyst inlay sources from Uruguay, which produces some of the world's highest-grade material from the Artigas department near the Brazilian border.