30 Dollars - Elizabeth II Year of the Ox: Longevity

Tuvalu's authority to issue coinage derives from its status as an independent Commonwealth realm, though the country's entire land area is under 26 square kilometers and its population has never exceeded 12,000. The lunar series issues of this period were produced by the Perth Mint under contract, which handled nearly all Pacific Island nation commemorative programs throughout the 2000s — a commercially driven arrangement that generated revenue for treasuries that would otherwise have little use for gold coinage.