Vanuatu's Reserve Bank has intermittently issued silver collector pieces tied to the archipelago's endemic wildlife, and the kingfisher series capitalized on growing demand from thematic natural history collectors in the early 1990s. Mintages on these issues were typically controlled tightly — the domestic market was tiny, and the coins were never intended for circulation on an island chain where lower-denomination cupro-nickel pieces handled all everyday transactions.
Vanuatu's Reserve Bank has intermittently issued silver collector pieces tied to the archipelago's endemic wildlife, and the kingfisher series capitalized on growing demand from thematic natural history collectors in the early 1990s. Mintages on these issues were typically controlled tightly — the domestic market was tiny, and the coins were never intended for circulation on an island chain where lower-denomination cupro-nickel pieces handled all everyday transactions.