30 Dollars Colorful sea creatures

Issued to mark the third anniversary of Antiguan independence, this gold foil note was never intended for circulation — it belongs to a category of commemorative currency produced in the early 1980s when several newly independent Caribbean states experimented with precious-metal and novelty substrates as a revenue stream from collectors rather than from commerce. The gold foil format made standard printing impossible; the imagery was instead stamped and embossed into the material.

Antigua & Barbuda achieved full independence from Britain on 1 November 1981, which dates this piece precisely.