100 Dollars Sailing Ships

Antigua and Barbuda gained independence on 1 November 1981, and this note was issued as part of that commemorative moment — a collector piece rather than anything that ever changed hands at a market stall. The .999 fine silver substrate pressed against 23-karat gold foil is a production oddity: not a bimetallic coin trick but a genuine laminated sheet note, a format that remained a curiosity in the numismatic trade through the 1980s.

Alan D'Estrehan's involvement places this squarely in the small world of Caribbean commemorative issue design of that decade. Mintage figures were tightly controlled, and the notes were sold primarily through philatelic and numismatic bureaus rather than through banking channels.