50 Dollars - Elizabeth II Takin

The takin (Budorcas taxicolor) is the national animal of Bhutan, which makes its appearance on a Cook Islands commemorative an odd choice — one driven entirely by the wildlife series market of the early 1990s, when Pacific island mints competed aggressively for collector revenue by licensing exotic fauna with no local connection whatsoever. Cook Islands ran dozens of these issues simultaneously, many sharing the same planchet specifications.