Three coins into the eight-coin 2019 programme, the EC8 series from Scottsdale Mint is working its way through the Caribbean countries for the second time. One of the most beautiful islands anywhere, not just in this region, is the island of Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic. An island devoid of expansive beaches but lush with vegetation, it’s a nature lovers dream.

Scottsdale have focused on a Sisserou Parrot, also called the Imperial, or Dominican Amazon. Only found on Dominica, it’s an excellent choice of subject to differentiate between the various nations in the programme. A relatively big bird at 46 cm in length and 900 grams in weight (obviously not big bird enough for Sesame Street…), it’s a gorgeous animal and the countries national bird.