This piece belongs to a group of privately struck copper tokens issued for Barbados in the late 18th century, produced in Britain to address a chronic shortage of small change across the Caribbean colonies. The British government had largely neglected official coinage supply to its island territories, leaving merchants and plantation operators to commission tokens independently. Most Barbados coppers of this period were struck by Boulton and Watt at the Soho Mint in Birmingham, though attribution of individual issues remains contested among specialists.
Lyall 78 is among the scarcer catalogued varieties, with Pridmore's enumeration remaining the standard reference for colonial Caribbean issues.
This piece belongs to a group of privately struck copper tokens issued for Barbados in the late 18th century, produced in Britain to address a chronic shortage of small change across the Caribbean colonies. The British government had largely neglected official coinage supply to its island territories, leaving merchants and plantation operators to commission tokens independently. Most Barbados coppers of this period were struck by Boulton and Watt at the Soho Mint in Birmingham, though attribution of individual issues remains contested among specialists.
Lyall 78 is among the scarcer catalogued varieties, with Pridmore's enumeration remaining the standard reference for colonial Caribbean issues.