10 Dollars Laughing Falcon, Copper-Nickel

Belize adopted a wildlife conservation coinage series in the early 1980s, with individual denominations assigned to specific native species. The Laughing Falcon — named for its distinctive laughing call rather than any behavioral levity — is a snake-eating raptor found throughout Central America and a fitting emblem for a country whose tropical forests were, at the time, under increasing agricultural pressure. KM#75 is the circulation-strike copper-nickel issue, distinct from the proof and silver versions struck for collector export, which funded a disproportionate share of the Central Bank's commemorative program revenue during this period.