Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
10 Dollars - Elizabeth II James Cook
| Issuer | Cook Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 2008 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Right-facing effigy of Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, after the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley, occupying the central field. The legend ELIZABETH II arcs along the upper left rim, COOK ISLANDS along the upper right rim, and the denomination 10 DOLLARS is inscribed along the lower rim. The truncation of the bust bears the designer's initials IRB. The overall style is consistent with the fourth definitive portrait used on Commonwealth coinage from 1998 onward. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Facing bust portrait of Captain James Cook, the celebrated British explorer and navigator, rendered in fine relief against a polished field. Cook is depicted wearing 18th-century period dress with a cravat and coat, his hair tied in a queue. The legend JAMES COOK arcs along the left rim, and the date 2008 appears to the lower right of the portrait in the field. The design evokes the classical portraiture tradition associated with Cook's era of Pacific exploration. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Cook Islands has issued commemorative gold in this fractional size fairly continuously since the 1990s, often pairing explorers with Pacific discovery narratives for obvious geographic reasons. James Cook's three voyages between 1768 and 1779 culminated in his death at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii — an irony given that the island group bearing his name lies roughly 2,000 kilometres to the southwest of where he was killed, and he never formally claimed it.