25 Cents - Elizabeth II Poor Little Gus

Part of the Cook Islands' long-running program of small-denomination collectibles struck on iron planchets with silver plating, this piece has no circulation history whatsoever — it was sold directly to collectors and never entered commerce on the islands. "Poor Little Gus" belongs to a series of anthropomorphized animal characters produced under Cook Islands' licensing arrangements, which have made the territory one of the most prolific issuers of novelty numismatic material since the 2010s. The KM catalog number alone — reaching into the thousands — reflects just how industrious that program has been.