5 Dollars - Elizabeth II James Cook

The Cook Islands entered the small-format gold coin market aggressively in the late 1990s and early 2000s, producing fractional issues timed to collector demand rather than any circulation need. This piece commemorates James Cook's three Pacific voyages, during which he charted the islands that would eventually bear his name — though Cook himself never called them that. The name was applied by Russian cartographers on maps produced after his 1778 visit.