Cook Islands

2021

This commemorative silver coin depicts the Chicxulub Crater on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, the impact site of the asteroid believed to have caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) mass extinction event approximately 66 million years ago. The design features a circular crater motif with a colorized central insert representing the ocean above the impact site, emphasizing the scale and geological significance of the event. The Chicxulub impact is widely accepted by scientists as the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other species. Issued as a modern collectible, the coin highlights one of the most important turning points in Earth’s natural history.