Liberia's early 2000s wildlife series was produced almost entirely for the collector export market — the country's actual circulating coinage was in chronic short supply during this period, with the economy still fractured following the Second Liberian Civil War, which had formally ended only in 2003. These silver issues were never intended to circulate and were struck under contract by foreign mints, a common arrangement for Liberia at the time.
The yellow-crested cockatoo, native to Indonesia and East Timor, had been listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN since 1994, its population collapsed primarily by illegal trapping for the pet trade.
Liberia's early 2000s wildlife series was produced almost entirely for the collector export market — the country's actual circulating coinage was in chronic short supply during this period, with the economy still fractured following the Second Liberian Civil War, which had formally ended only in 2003. These silver issues were never intended to circulate and were struck under contract by foreign mints, a common arrangement for Liberia at the time.
The yellow-crested cockatoo, native to Indonesia and East Timor, had been listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN since 1994, its population collapsed primarily by illegal trapping for the pet trade.