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30 Dollars Underwater Treasures
| Issuer | Government of Antigua & Barbuda |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Type | Souvenir banknote |
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| Obverse description | Gold foil note issued to commemorate Antiguan independence in November 1981, with the central vignette rendered in high-relief embossed gold depicting a panoramic coastal landscape with layered terrain and an underwater seabed scene in the lower half. Oval medallions at left and right contain the national arms and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II respectively, while ornate floral cornerpieces frame the denomination numeral 30 in each corner. A facsimile signature of the Minister of Finance appears at lower centre, with the denomination tablet THIRTY DOLLARS set in a recessed panel at bottom. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse, also executed in embossed gold foil on a black ground, carries a central vignette composed of six labelled Caribbean marine specimens arranged across the field: a Helmet shell, an Olive shell, an Auger shell, a Slender Sea Horse, a Scallop, and a Cone shell, each identified by a caption in fine lettering. Decorative guilloche-style lateral borders with laurel branches flank the composition, and denomination numerals 30 appear in all four corners within ornamental frames. The issuer inscription and denomination tablet are repeated at top and bottom respectively. |
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| Comments |
One of several gold foil novelty notes issued by Caribbean governments in the early 1980s, this piece was never legal tender in any meaningful transactional sense — it was produced for the collector market, capitalizing on the brief international fashion for foil-laminated "commemorative currency" that swept through small island jurisdictions during that period. Antigua & Barbuda, newly independent in 1981, was among the first to issue under its own name rather than as part of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority.
The gold foil construction makes these notoriously prone to delamination along the edges with age.