10 Dollars - Elizabeth II Pope John Paul II

Issued the same year Karol Wojtyła died, this Cook Islands commemorative was part of a wave of papal memorial pieces flooding the market in 2005 — a minting phenomenon that saw dozens of small sovereign issuers rush gold and silver releases to market within weeks of April 2nd. Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand, has no direct historical connection to the Vatican; the issue exists purely within the commemorative bullion trade, where low-mintage face-value gold pieces in this sub-1.5g range are produced primarily for collector sets rather than any meaningful circulation purpose.