1 Dollar Pygmy Hippo

Liberia's wildlife series of the early 1990s was produced largely for the collector export market, with minimal domestic circulation. These issues were struck by foreign mints on contract and sold primarily through international dealers and Franklin Mint-style direct marketing channels — a financing strategy Liberia relied on heavily given its near-collapsed domestic economy following the outbreak of civil war in 1989.

The pygmy hippopotamus is endemic to West Africa, with Liberia holding one of its last viable wild populations.