1 Dollar Santo Subito III

Issued shortly after the beatification momentum surrounding John Paul II reached its peak, this Palauan dollar belongs to a sprawling series of papal and religious commemoratives produced for the collector market rather than circulation. Palau has no meaningful connection to the Vatican; the coins exist because the island's monetary arrangement with the United States left room for licensed commemorative issues sold wholesale to European distributors.

"Santo Subito" — "sainthood immediately" — was the cry from the crowd at John Paul II's funeral in April 2005, an unusually public demand that visibly influenced the Vatican's decision to waive the standard five-year waiting period before opening his cause.