The Marshall Islands began issuing commemorative coinage aggressively in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, producing dozens of collector-targeted pieces through foreign minting arrangements rather than any domestic facility. These issues circulated almost nowhere and were sold primarily through direct-mail marketing to collectors in the United States — the Monroe piece being one of several celebrity tributes in that run.
Monroe died in August 1962. By 1995, her image rights were actively managed and commercially licensed, which almost certainly factored into the authorization of this issue.
The Marshall Islands began issuing commemorative coinage aggressively in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, producing dozens of collector-targeted pieces through foreign minting arrangements rather than any domestic facility. These issues circulated almost nowhere and were sold primarily through direct-mail marketing to collectors in the United States — the Monroe piece being one of several celebrity tributes in that run.
Monroe died in August 1962. By 1995, her image rights were actively managed and commercially licensed, which almost certainly factored into the authorization of this issue.