Please wait ...
ALVIN
Platform for digital collections and digitized cultural heritage
English
ui-button
English
Svenska
Norsk
Login ()
ui-button
Gothenburg
Företagens historia
Karolinska Institutet
Linköping
Linnaeus University
Lund
Stockholm
Uppsala
Örebro
Västerås
Österåker
Folkrörelsearkivet
Skara
Riksantikvarieämbetet
Musik- och teaterbiblioteket
Veterinärmuseet
Universitetet i Oslo
Arboga
All resource types
Archive
Books & Manuscript
Image
Map
Mixed material
Music material
Object
Software
Sound recording
Video
Person
Organisation
Place
Work
Resource types
All resource types
Archive
Books & Manuscript
Image
Map
Mixed material
Music material
Object
Software
Sound recording
Video
Index
Person
Organisation
Place
Work
ui-button
Extended search
|
About Alvin
|
Copyright
|
Contact us
British Commonwealth, Barbados, 1 penny 1788 or ''I serve'' plantation token, large bust and pineapple type, issued by local plantation owner Philip Gibbs, copper.
(Object)
Language
English
Persons
Gibbs, Philip
, Local plantation owner in Barbados, 1740-1820
(issuer, mintmaster)
Milton, John
, English coin engraver and medalist, 1760-1830
(engraver)
Value
1 penny
Origin
London
, Barbados: British royal mint, 1788
Other years/dates
Date on object:
1788
Physical description
31
(diameter)
mm
Weight:
13,60 g
Material:
bronze:
Technique:
coined
Format:
Non digital + Digital, reformatted digital
Axis clock:
3
Conservation state:
Worn, Corrosion, Clipped, Die crack reverse
Notes
Obverse description: Large left facing bust of an African, wearing crown and the Prince of Wales's feathers.
Reverse description: Large pineapple, date below.
Obverse legend: I SERVE.
Reverse legend: BARBADOES PENNY 1788.
History: Barbados was settled by the English in 1627. The colonists initially tried to plant tobacco and cotton, but were unsuccessful. However, with assistance from the Dutch, they soon developed lucrative sugar plantations, necessitating the importation of large numbers of African slave laborers. It has been estimated that in 1684 the number of black slaves approached 46,000, more than double the population of English colonists, who numbered around 20,000. As on the other West Indies islands, barter was the mainstay of commerce, supplemented with Spanish gold and silver. Following Queen Anne's Proclamation of 1704, lowering the purchasing power of silver coinage throughout the New World, most silver coins left the island. As a result in 1705 £7,000 in paper bills of credit were issued for local circulation.
Throughout the Eighteenth century and into the early Ninteenth century Spanish American silver would be cut into "bitts" for small change and counterstamped for local circulation. However, in 1788, at about the same time as some of the newly formed American states were coining coppers, a penny size copper, was minted in England for Barbados. The token is thought to have been privately commissioned by Phillip Gibbs, a local plantation owner. The obverse displays a bust of an African wearing a plumed crown and the legend "I serve". The reverse depicts the national symbol of barbados, a pineapple, with the legend "Barbadoes Penny" and the date 1788.
Since the Barbados penny was struck locally, the coins were never recognised as official colonial currency. However, these pennies do remind us of the long working days and harsh conditions the slaves on barbados had to do endure.
Literature
F. Pridmore, Coins of the British Commonwealth of Nations, Volume 3 (Spink, 1975), 10.
Related records in Alvin
References:
Standard catalog of world coins (Deluxe ANA Centennial Edition), vol. II
, 2485
Object type
Coin
Contact
Contact us
Location
Uppsala University Coin Cabinet
Universitetshuset, Biskopsgatan 3
Box 256
751 05 Uppsala
Identifiers (general)
urn:nbn:se:alvin:portal:record-352366
(nbn)
Identifiers (local)
104869
(Inventory number)
alvin-record:352366
(alvin)
Licensing of the work
Public Domain Mark (No Known Copyright)
Please wait ...
Link to record
Permanent link
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:alvin:portal:record-352366
Direct link
https://www.alvin-portal.org/alvin/view.jsf?pid=alvin-record:352366
Create new record
Enter title
Owner
Ok
Cancel
New place
Enter name
Ok
Cancel
Create new organisation
Enter name
Ok
Cancel
Create new person
Enter last name
Ok
Cancel
Create new musical work
Enter title
Ok
Cancel
Could not delete
This record can not be deleted as it is referenced from other resources
Ok
Login to Alvin
Username
Password
Log in
Cancel
About Alvin
Alvin is a platform where digitized cultural heritage and digital collections are preserved and made available, as well as a catalogue of materials not yet digitized.
Copyright
All digitized materials in Alvin may be downloaded and used freely!