50 Dollars - Elizabeth II Ferdinand and Isabella

This issue commemorates the quincentenary of Columbus's 1492 voyage, a anniversary that generated an enormous wave of commemorative coinage worldwide — Cook Islands among dozens of nations that licensed the theme despite having no historical connection to it. The Ferdinand and Isabella pairing references the Spanish monarchs who funded the expedition after Columbus had been rejected by the Portuguese crown. At .583 fineness, this sits below the standard .999 or .9167 gold used in most bullion issues, a common cost-reduction choice in the commemorative market of the early 1990s.