5 Dollars German East Africa, Essai

This essai — a trial or pattern piece struck to test dies or demonstrate a proposed design — was issued by Palau as part of a series commemorating German colonial coinage. The choice of palladium is the point of interest here: 1999 fell near the peak of a palladium supply crisis driven by Russian export interruptions, when the metal briefly commanded premiums over gold. Striking a collector piece in palladium at that moment was either very well-timed or very expensive, depending on when Palau's mint contractor sourced the blanks.