20 Dollars - Elizabeth II Leatherback Turtle

Tuvalu's wildlife coinage program of the early 1990s was driven largely by export to collector markets in Australia and the United States, with the Pacific Turtle Fund and related conservation lobbying groups providing political cover for what were essentially bullion-adjacent commemoratives. The leatherback, the largest living reptile and a known Pacific nester, was listed under CITES Appendix I by this point — making it a reliable emotive subject for the program's target buyers.

Tuvalu itself has no mint; these were struck at the Perth Mint under contract.