1 Cent - Elizabeth II Heavy Version

Barbados gained independence in November 1966 and spent several years operating with Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority coinage before establishing the Central Bank of Barbados in 1972 and issuing its own decimal series the following year. The "heavy version" designation distinguishes this issue from the later reduced-weight planchet adopted in the 1990s, a cost-cutting measure common across the Caribbean as copper prices climbed. The original 3.11g specification was carried through nearly two decades of production before the transition made the earlier strikes retroactively collectible as a distinct type.