Samoa has issued a steady stream of celebrity tribute coinage under licensing arrangements that attract collector interest more through the subject than the issuing authority. Steve McQueen's estate has been notably active in licensing his image for numismatic products, a reflection of the sustained commercial value of his persona decades after his death from pleural mesothelioma in 1980 — a disease linked to asbestos exposure during his years in the Marine Corps.
Samoa has issued a steady stream of celebrity tribute coinage under licensing arrangements that attract collector interest more through the subject than the issuing authority. Steve McQueen's estate has been notably active in licensing his image for numismatic products, a reflection of the sustained commercial value of his persona decades after his death from pleural mesothelioma in 1980 — a disease linked to asbestos exposure during his years in the Marine Corps.