5 Dollars - Elizabeth II The Little Lion and The Turtle

Part of a broader Cook Islands wildlife series, this issue capitalizes on the islands' association with Pacific conservation imagery despite Cook Islands having no direct institutional role in sea turtle preservation programs at the time of minting. The coins in this series were produced under the standard Cook Islands arrangement with foreign private mints — the nominal face value carries legal tender status, but no piece was ever intended or expected to circulate.

The pairing of species in the title reflects a collector-driven marketing concept rather than any ecological or geographic relationship between the two animals.