Palau has issued commemorative wildlife coinage under various licensing arrangements since the late 1990s, with many pieces produced by foreign mints on contract rather than struck domestically — Palau has no mint of its own. The surgeon fish series sits within a broader Pacific marine conservation push that coincided with Palau establishing one of the world's first shark sanctuaries in 2009, two years after this coin was struck.
Palau has issued commemorative wildlife coinage under various licensing arrangements since the late 1990s, with many pieces produced by foreign mints on contract rather than struck domestically — Palau has no mint of its own. The surgeon fish series sits within a broader Pacific marine conservation push that coincided with Palau establishing one of the world's first shark sanctuaries in 2009, two years after this coin was struck.