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50 Dollars - Elizabeth II Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana
| Issuer | Cook Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1993 |
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| Value | 50 Dollars |
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| Obverse description | Right-facing crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II wearing the George IV State Diadem, with a pearl drop earring and pearl necklace visible. The portrait, rendered in fine relief against a polished proof field, is the Arnold Machin-style effigy as adapted for Commonwealth coinage. The legend ELIZABETH II arcs along the left periphery and COOK ISLANDS along the right, with the date 1993 positioned in the lower exergue. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Orellana's 1541–42 descent of the Amazon — the first European navigation of the river from the Andes to the Atlantic — was an accidental expedition. He set out from Quito under Gonzalo Pizarro's command to search for cinnamon forests and El Dorado, then separated from the main party ostensibly to find food downriver. He never returned to Pizarro, claiming the current made it impossible. Pizarro called it desertion; Orellana called it survival.
Cook Islands issued heavily into the commemorative silver market throughout the early 1990s, producing dozens of explorer and discovery themes with minimal local monetary relevance.