25 Dollars - Elizabeth II Year of the Rat

The Cook Islands has operated one of the more prolific bullion and commemorative programs in the Pacific since the 1970s, licensing its authority to overseas minting operations — this piece almost certainly struck by a European mint on contract rather than on island. The 155.5g format places it squarely in the five-troy-ounce category, a weight denomination that gained commercial traction in the mid-2000s collector market.

2008 was the Year of the Rat in the sexagenary cycle — the first sign, marking the start of a new 12-year sequence.