20 Dollars Year of the Ox

Liberia's late-1990s commemorative program was largely driven by overseas marketing firms rather than any domestic monetary policy, with most pieces destined for collector packets sold through mail-order channels in Europe and North America. They were never intended to circulate, and almost none did.

The Lunar series issued under Liberian authority during this period coincided with a country in the middle of a devastating civil war — Charles Taylor's forces had only recently consolidated power after years of conflict that killed a quarter of the population.