The Cook Islands, a sovereign state in free association with New Zealand, uses two official legal tender currencies. The New Zealand Dollar circulates in parallel with the local Cook Islands Dollar; at the same time, the government also authorises many legal tender coins in the Cook Islands Dollar currency for collector's purposes.
Collector coins are dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to the country itself. Many of them are in sizes based on the troy ounce, including the very large five ounces of gold format - such as this coin.
The Special Forces design is the third in the Real Heroes coin series by CIT Coin Invest.
The Mint says about it: On this incredible coin, we honour those that serve in the military special forces units. These heroes are the best of the best and are routinely called upon to carry out the most difficult and dangerous missions. Many of their missions are done in secrecy and great care is taken to protect these heroes and their identity. Which is exactly the feeling you get when you look at this coin.
The ultra-high relief of the designs extends all the way to the edges and sets against a background of a honeycomb pattern and the Real Heroes logo. Just beside on the rim you can find the traditional motto of the special forces "de oppresso liber" in micro minting. The 5 oz Gold is done in Black Proof with the goggles left in the original gold finish to allow for an impressive contrast to the Black Proof surface.
The obverse shows special forces being dropped in under the cover of night with the primal understanding that "Only the Brave are free". |