5 Dollars German Samoa, Essai

Palau's 1999 palladium essai issues occupy a peculiar corner of Pacific numismatics — struck speculatively during the brief window when palladium was aggressively promoted as a coinage metal by several small sovereign issuers, largely to capitalize on collector demand rather than any monetary function. The German Samoa theme references the colonial administration Germany held over Western Samoa from 1900 until New Zealand forces seized the territory in August 1914, just days after war was declared.

The palladium essai designation means this piece was never released for general circulation — a pattern strike to demonstrate the metal's suitability, with mintages typically in the low dozens.