Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
30 Dollars Tropical treasures
| 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 | 152 × 69 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Gold foil note issued on a black substrate to commemorate Antiguan independence in November 1981, with the central vignette rendered in high-relief embossed gold showing a panoramic coastal landscape with mountains and shoreline. An oval medallion at lower left carries the national coat of arms, while a second oval at right bears a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II; the denomination "30" appears in ornate corner cartouches framed by floral scrollwork. A facsimile signature of the Minister of Finance is positioned at lower centre beneath the serial number. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse of this gold foil note is executed entirely in embossed relief on a black ground, with a large central vignette occupying most of the field and portraying a Bananaquit bird perched amid banana tree foliage, both elements identified by printed labels within the design. Ornate vertical border panels of tropical plant scrollwork flank the central scene on either side, with the denomination "30" set in oval corner frames at all four corners. The issuer's name runs across the top within a raised banner, and "THIRTY DOLLARS" is contained in a rectangular panel at the base. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| 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 note was part of a wave of collector-oriented legal tender issues that proliferated among small Caribbean nations in the early 1980s, when several governments — Antigua & Barbuda among them — recognized that limited-mintage commemorative currency could generate foreign exchange revenue with essentially zero circulation cost. The 1981 independence anniversary provided the occasion.
Gold foil construction makes these mechanically fragile; creasing is irreversible and common, which means genuinely flat examples are harder to find than the original print run would suggest.