Money Monday - the Barbados Penny (1788)

Obverse: I SERVE

Reverse: BARBADOES PENNY 1788

This is a Barbados copper Penny, minted in England and is one of the first coins ever to be circulated on the island of Barbados in the Caribbean.

This was not an official currency but one privately commissioned from the Royal Mint in England by Robert Gibbs, a Barbados plantation owner. This was to fill an economic gap on the island but gradually became more widely used around the Caribbean as well, meaning it is often referred to as token coinage. Barbados was an important centre for the slave trade due its geographic position but also as a centre for sugar plantations. Indeed, it was the realisation of where their sugar came from that pushed many British people to support the abolition of slavery.

The coin reflects the slave-owning economy of the island by depicting a crowned African with the legend ‘I Serve’, while the national symbol of Barbados, the pineapple, is depicted on the reverse.The design is particularly interesting. Slaves had been trafficked to and used on Barbados since the mid-1600s, but it is not clear why an African has been depicted with crown and plumes. The plumes are usually associated with the Prince of Wales whose motto is also ‘I Serve’, meaning the coin may be a cruel satire on the island’s slaves.

Coins featured in Money Monday are a part of the University of Reading’s Stenton Coin Collection. For more information or to view the collection, please contact us: specialcollections@reading.ac.uk

