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2 Dollars - Elizabeth II Alexander von Humboldt
| Issuer | Cook Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 2008 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A highly detailed depiction of the three-masted barque Alexander von Humboldt under full sail, shown sailing on stylized waves occupying the lower portion of the field. The vessel's rigging, sails, and hull details are rendered with fine engraving. A decorative scroll banner arching across the upper field bears the gilded legend ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. The date 2008 appears in the exergue below the waterline. |
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| Reverse lettering | ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT 2008 |
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| Additional information |
Cook Islands ran an aggressive commemorative program through the 2000s, licensing portrait rights and historical subjects through the New Zealand-based Pacific coin trade — Humboldt appearing here as part of a broader "Famous Explorers" series distributed primarily through European collector channels rather than anything resembling domestic circulation. These pieces were never intended to cross a shop counter in Rarotonga.
Humboldt died in Berlin in 1859, five years into the reign of the monarch whose profile would eventually end up sharing metal with his. The pairing is purely commercial.