The Pacific island of Palau, independent since 1994, is one of the world’s youngest and smallest nations. With a population of just 21,000 inhabitants, the country needs the assistance of the USA to subsist. A former Spanish colony, it was part of the Spanish East Indies for over 300 hundred years, until it was bought by the Germans in 1899. After the WWII it was administered by the USA. This tiny republic has become a reputed producer of beautiful coins.