The Via Crucis series, issued through the Cook Islands' licensing arrangement with the Pobjoy Mint, was part of a wave of faith-themed commemoratives marketed heavily to Catholic collectors in the mid-2000s. Cook Islands itself has no stake in the subject matter — the arrangement is purely commercial, with the island nation's issuing authority lending its name to coins intended almost entirely for the European and American collector market.
The Via Crucis series, issued through the Cook Islands' licensing arrangement with the Pobjoy Mint, was part of a wave of faith-themed commemoratives marketed heavily to Catholic collectors in the mid-2000s. Cook Islands itself has no stake in the subject matter — the arrangement is purely commercial, with the island nation's issuing authority lending its name to coins intended almost entirely for the European and American collector market.