1 Cent Independence

Trinidad and Tobago's "Independence" coinage series, introduced in 1966 following independence from Britain in 1962, retained the hummingbird and other national symbols originally chosen to distinguish the new republic's currency from its colonial predecessor. By 1972, the bronze cent was already a practical inconvenience — inflation had been quietly eroding its purchasing power for years, and the denomination would eventually be discontinued entirely in 1976 when the cent's real-world utility had become negligible.