Catalog
100 Dollars Sailing Ships
| Issuer | Government of Antigua & Barbuda |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular (Bold Relief) |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central vignette in bold relief on a 23K gold foil ground presents two full-rigged sailing vessels at sea — a large ship-of-the-line to the left and Captain Kidd's Adventure Galley to the right — rendered in .999 fine silver intaglio with finely detailed rigging and wave work. Floral and foliate ornamental borders frame the lateral edges, with denomination numerals "100" at each corner within oval cartouches. The issuer legend runs along the upper border and the value inscription along the lower border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | GOVERNMENT OF ANTIGUA & BARBUDA INDEPENDENCE NOVEMBER 1981 MINISTRY OF FINANCE ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
This is a legal tender commemorative, not a circulating banknote — issued by Antigua and Barbuda in the first year after independence from associated statehood, when the newly sovereign government had strong incentive to produce prestige items for the collector market. The .999 silver substrate pressed against 23-karat gold foil was a format used by several small Caribbean and Pacific issuers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, almost none of which saw any handling outside of presentation folders.
D'Estrehan's name appears on a handful of these Caribbean foil issues from the same period, suggesting a cottage industry of sorts around commemorative legal tender production in the region. Mintage figures for this series have never been reliably published.