10 Dollars Montenegro - Dalmatian Pelican

Montenegro issued this coin under a licensing arrangement that placed its name on a piece with no connection to Montenegrin monetary history — a practice common among small sovereignties in the early 2000s seeking seigniorage revenue from foreign mint programs. The actual issuing authority, marketing, and distribution were handled entirely outside Montenegro.

The Dalmatian Pelican (*Pelecanus crispus*) breeds around the Neretva delta and Lake Skadar, the latter straddling the Montenegro-Albania border — which at least provides a geographic rationale for the subject matter.