2 Dollars - Elizabeth II Hughes H-1 Racer

The Hughes H-1 Racer holds a specific place in American aviation history: Howard Hughes flew it to a new landplane speed record of 352.46 mph on September 13, 1935, and later used a modified version to set a transcontinental record in 1937. Cook Islands has issued a long-running series of aviation-themed commemoratives, and this coin falls within that program — the islands having no meaningful connection to the subject matter, the choice of issuer being driven entirely by the secondary collector market rather than any historical relationship to the aircraft.