5 Dollars - Elizabeth II Year of the Snake

Cook Islands has issued lunar series coinage under New Zealand's currency agreement since the 1970s, though these pieces function exclusively as collector items with no domestic circulation. The 2013 Snake issue falls within the Chinese zodiac cycle — the Year of the Snake running from February 10, 2013 to January 30, 2014 — a release timed deliberately to the Lunar New Year for the Asian bullion gift market.