Barbados switched from cupronickel to nickel-plated steel for this denomination as part of a broader regional cost-cutting trend that followed the spike in base metal prices during the mid-2000s commodity boom. The reformulation, catalogued as KM#12a to distinguish it from the original KM#12, is magnetic — the easiest field test for separating the two otherwise visually identical types.
Barbados switched from cupronickel to nickel-plated steel for this denomination as part of a broader regional cost-cutting trend that followed the spike in base metal prices during the mid-2000s commodity boom. The reformulation, catalogued as KM#12a to distinguish it from the original KM#12, is magnetic — the easiest field test for separating the two otherwise visually identical types.