10 Vatu Graphium weiskei

Graphium weiskei, the Purple-spotted Swallowtail, is endemic to the highlands of Papua New Guinea — which makes its appearance on a Vanuatu coin geographically curious. The Reserve Bank issued this piece as part of a broader Pacific wildlife bullion-style series aimed squarely at the thematic collector market rather than circulation, a strategy Vanuatu leaned on heavily through the 2000s to generate foreign exchange revenue from numismatic exports.

The .999 silver cladding over copper-nickel is a production compromise that keeps costs below a solid silver striking while still commanding a premium over base metal.