Barbados issued this coin to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the country's independence, declared on November 30, 1966, when the island severed its constitutional ties with Britain after more than three centuries of colonial rule. The trident motif has been central to Barbadian national identity since independence — notably, at the actual moment the flag was raised for the first time, the trident on the colonial ensign was symbolically broken by a Barbadian soldier to mark the transition.
Barbados issued this coin to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the country's independence, declared on November 30, 1966, when the island severed its constitutional ties with Britain after more than three centuries of colonial rule. The trident motif has been central to Barbadian national identity since independence — notably, at the actual moment the flag was raised for the first time, the trident on the colonial ensign was symbolically broken by a Barbadian soldier to mark the transition.