1 Dollar Emperor penguins; M/S Explorer

The Antarctica Overseas Exchange Office Ltd. is a private novelty issuer with no governmental authority — these notes are souvenir items, not legal tender anywhere, including Antarctica itself. The "M/S Explorer" reference is pointed: that Canadian-registered expedition vessel sank in the Bransfield Strait on 23 November 2007 after striking ice, just months after this note was issued, giving it an accidental commemorative significance its producers could not have intended.

Polymer substrate and a hologram strip are genuine security features, borrowed from legitimate currency production to add perceived authenticity to what is essentially a collector novelty.