10 Dollars - Elizabeth II Chartres

Part of Cook Islands' long-running architectural series, this issue commemorates Chartres Cathedral, whose construction began in earnest after a fire destroyed most of the earlier Romanesque structure in 1194. The rebuild was largely complete within a single generation — extraordinarily fast for Gothic cathedral construction — funded in part by the relic of the Virgin Mary's tunic, which survived the fire and drew pilgrims whose donations financed the work.