Cook Islands has issued commemorative wildlife silver in volume since the 1990s, much of it struck by the Bern-based Swissmint or Austrian Mint under contract — the chamois subject here almost certainly originating from the latter, given Austria's long association with the animal as a national emblem and its mint's established relationship with Pacific island commemorative programs. These issues circulate nowhere and are sold directly into collector markets, making the nominal two-dollar face value a legal fiction underwritten by the Cook Islands' longstanding arrangement with New Zealand.
Cook Islands has issued commemorative wildlife silver in volume since the 1990s, much of it struck by the Bern-based Swissmint or Austrian Mint under contract — the chamois subject here almost certainly originating from the latter, given Austria's long association with the animal as a national emblem and its mint's established relationship with Pacific island commemorative programs. These issues circulate nowhere and are sold directly into collector markets, making the nominal two-dollar face value a legal fiction underwritten by the Cook Islands' longstanding arrangement with New Zealand.