5 Dollars People and Monuments

Kiribati adopted its constitution and became an independent republic in 1979, separating from the Gilbert Islands colony after Britain had already relinquished the Ellice Islands — which became Tuvalu — two years prior. The new nation inherited almost no monetary infrastructure, and its commemorative coinage program became one of the few revenue streams available to a government with no significant exports beyond fishing licenses and copra.

KM#25 is a small-series issue with limited distribution outside specialist Pacific collections.