10 Dollars - Elizabeth II Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein was never finished. Ludwig II of Bavaria commissioned the castle in 1869 as a private retreat and deliberate flight from political reality — he was already being sidelined by Bismarck's unified German state. He lived in it for roughly 170 days before being declared mentally unfit and deposed in 1886, dying under disputed circumstances three days later. The castle opened to tourists within weeks of his death, on government orders.

Cook Islands issued dozens of colored silver rounds during this period under licensing arrangements with the Pobjoy Mint, with Neuschwanstein appearing in a broader "Wonders of the World" series.