1 Dollar Pope Benedict XVI

Issued in the weeks following Joseph Ratzinger's election in April 2005, this is one of dozens of near-identical papal tribute pieces struck by private minting houses under Liberian licensing arrangements during the 2000s. Liberia's permissive commemorative coinage program made it a preferred vehicle for this kind of rapid-response issue — the sovereign authorization was largely nominal, and the coins were sold directly to collectors rather than circulated.