Leopard-like rosettes appear on no domestic cat except the Bengal: the breed inherited the pattern from its wild ancestor, the Asian leopard cat. Its story began with the Californian breeder Jean Mill, who made the first known deliberate cross between a wild and a domestic cat.

Another Bengal hallmark is the shimmering glitter of its coat, and TICA accepted the breed in 1986. On Fiji’s 2013 silver 2 dollars it appears in the «Super Cat» line of the «Dogs and Cats» collector programme, in colour with a crystal insert.

The obverse bears the Fijian coat of arms and the motto «Rerevaka na Kalou ka doka na Tui». The coin is struck from one ounce of 999 silver in a mintage of 5,000, and this spotted «house leopard» looks right both in a cat collection and next to coins featuring wild cats.

Proof quality: polished dies give a mirror field and frosted relief, on which the spotted pattern of the coat reads in full detail.

VPcoins brings coins and banknotes from all over the world together in one catalogue.