{"product_id":"1987-barbados-10-cents-laughing-gull-national-arms-vf-ef","title":"1987 Barbados 10 Cents — National Arms \/ Laughing Gull — Philip Nathan Design — VF+ to EF","description":"\u003cp\u003e☢️ Dropped into a tip jar at a Bridgetown fish fry, this ten-cent coin carried a bird on one side and the tree that gave the island its name on the other — two pieces of Barbados that have nothing to do with Britain, on a coin that never carried a British monarch's portrait.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThis 1987 Barbados 10 cents features a laughing gull in mid-flight, wings extended downward in a diving posture, designed by Philip Nathan. The Central Bank of Barbados officially identifies the bird as a tern, but numismatists have noted that the tail is rounded, not forked — making it a gull, most likely the laughing gull that is a common sight along Barbadian coastlines. Nathan rendered the bird in motion, not perched, and the sense of flight across the small copper-nickel disc is immediate.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe obverse carries the Barbados coat of arms: a dolphinfish and a pelican flanking a shield bearing the bearded fig tree — the tree Portuguese explorers saw when they named the island Os Barbados, \"the bearded ones.\" The motto below reads PRIDE AND INDUSTRY. There is no monarch on this coin, and there never was one on Barbadian decimal coinage — the coat of arms has held the obverse since the first coins were struck in 1973.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e💡 Everyday Life at the Time\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In 1987, ten Barbadian cents bought a local telephone call or contributed toward a sweet drink from a roadside vendor. Tourism was the engine of the economy, and the island was midway through a building boom along the west coast. Cricket remained the national obsession — Barbados had produced more world-class cricketers per capita than any other country — and the rhythms of calypso and soca defined the cultural calendar alongside the annual Crop Over festival.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e📜 Historical Context\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Barbados gained independence from Britain on November 30, 1966, and introduced its own decimal currency — the Barbados dollar, pegged at two to one against the US dollar — in 1973. The decision to place the national coat of arms on the obverse rather than the queen's portrait was a statement of visual sovereignty that not every newly independent Caribbean nation made. Jamaica and Trinidad chose similar paths, while the Eastern Caribbean States and the Cayman Islands kept the Crown.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe bearded fig tree on the shield anchors the coat of arms in the island's oldest name. Portuguese sailors passing the island in the sixteenth century saw the trees' hanging aerial roots and called them beards — and the name stuck through centuries of Spanish, English, and Barbadian usage. In 2021, Barbados went further than any other Caribbean Commonwealth realm by becoming a republic, removing Elizabeth II as head of state entirely. The coins struck before that transition — including this one — carry the arms of a country that was still technically a monarchy but had never put the monarch on its money.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e🧾 Coin Details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Country: Barbados\u003cbr\u003eDenomination: 10 Cents\u003cbr\u003eYear: 1987\u003cbr\u003eGovernment: Barbados (Constitutional Monarchy under Elizabeth II)\u003cbr\u003eComposition: Copper-nickel\u003cbr\u003eWeight: 2.26 g\u003cbr\u003eDiameter: 17.78 mm\u003cbr\u003eThickness: 1.13 mm\u003cbr\u003eMintage: Circulation strike\u003cbr\u003eCondition: VF+ to EF — the laughing gull retains sharp wing feather detail with clear flight posture; the coat of arms shows the bearded fig tree, dolphinfish, and pelican with good definition; PRIDE AND INDUSTRY fully legible; minimal wear on the highest relief points\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAt just over two grams and under eighteen millimeters, this is one of the smallest coins in the Caribbean collection — lighter and narrower than a US dime. The copper-nickel has a bright silvery tone that this particular coin has preserved well despite decades of tropical circulation. The gull on the reverse fills the available space with a sense of momentum, its body angled downward as if it has just spotted something in the water below. Flip the coin and the coat of arms is dense with island identity: two sea creatures, a tree named for its beard, a flower, and a motto that asks nothing of anyone.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e⭐ Why This Coin Is a Great Collectible\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e • Features a laughing gull in flight — designed by Philip Nathan, rendered in a diving posture that fills the coin with motion\u003cbr\u003e• National coat of arms with the bearded fig tree that gave the island its name — Os Barbados, \"the bearded ones\"\u003cbr\u003e• No British monarch on the obverse — Barbados put its national arms on every coin from the first day of its own currency\u003cbr\u003e• Struck during the Elizabeth II era but never carrying her portrait — a country that chose visual sovereignty before political sovereignty\u003cbr\u003e• Barbados became a republic in 2021, making this a coin from a monarchy that never looked like one\u003cbr\u003e• Dolphinfish and pelican supporters on the coat of arms — Caribbean marine life as national heraldry\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e💡 Collector Tip\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce you notice which Caribbean nations put the Queen on their coins and which put their coat of arms, you start asking why — and the answers are never simple. The kind of collector who compares obverse choices across the Caribbean is the kind who understands that Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad all chose to face their own symbols rather than a monarch, while the Cayman Islands and the Eastern Caribbean States kept the Crown. Barbados then went a step further in 2021 and became a republic. The coins from before that moment carry a coat of arms from a monarchy that had already decided what it wanted to look at.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eYou will receive the exact coin shown in these photographs. All coins are authentic and unaltered — we don't enhance patina or touch up surfaces. Grades are conservative; circulated pieces show honest wear from actual use, not damage or mishandling. Carefully packaged. Ships promptly with tracking.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThey named the island after a tree. They put the tree on the money. The gull on the other side has been laughing ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WadesCoinShop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48034313273558,"sku":"S-CARIB-BARB-10CT-1987","price":0.89,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/4939\/5158\/files\/20260329_202634.jpg?v=1775236919","url":"https:\/\/wadescoinshop.myshopify.com\/products\/1987-barbados-10-cents-laughing-gull-national-arms-vf-ef","provider":"WadesCoinShop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}