10 Dollars P-38 Lightning

The Marshall Islands began issuing commemorative dollar-denominated coinage in the late 1980s under a licensing arrangement that produced dozens of themed series — aircraft, space missions, presidents — largely aimed at the collector market rather than circulation. The P-38 Lightning issue appeared as part of a World War II aviation series, the P-38 being a natural subject given that the aircraft's twin-boom design made it one of the most visually distinctive American fighters of the war.

It was a P-38 that intercepted and shot down Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's transport aircraft over Bougainville in April 1943, following a decrypted Japanese signal — one of the most consequential single missions in Pacific theater history.