10 Dollars Marine Life Protection

Somalia had no functioning central government in 1998 — the state had collapsed in 1991 and would not see a broadly recognized transitional authority until 2000. These coins were almost certainly authorized and produced through licensing arrangements with foreign promoters, a practice common among collapsed or weak states that lease their nominal sovereignty to private minting interests. The actual connection to Somali monetary authority is tenuous at best.

Copper-nickel collector issues of this type were mass-marketed through dealer networks in Europe and Asia throughout the 1990s. Mintage controls were rarely enforced.