2020 Antigua & Barbuda 1 oz Gold Rum Runner (Colorized)

The EC8 program consists of four coins in each release on behalf of each of the eight Caribbean island members that comprise the ECCB - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The ECCB is the official issuer of the Eastern Caribbean Dollar - the currency of the EC8 2020 Coin Program.

Coin Highlights:

• Contains 1 oz of .9999 fine Gold.
• Coin comes in a protective plastic capsule with mint issued box and certificate of authenticity.
• Limited mintage of only 100 coins, a big decrease from previous releases of 500.
• Obverse: Displays an image of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by two leafy branches, along with the weight and purity.
• Reverse: Depicts a colorized 18^th century pirate ship billowing smoke from her gunports.
• The coins, manufactured and distributed by Scottsdale Mint, are legal tender in the territories of the eight members that comprise the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

Protect your coins and capsules from fingerprints by adding these cotton gloves to your order.

Collect a piece of history from each of the beautiful Caribbean Islands. Add this Antigua and Barbuda Rum Runner Colorized Gold Proof to your cart today!

The relationship between rum and the Caribbean can be traced back to 1493 when Columbus first visited Antigua. Keen on the tropical climate and virgin soil, he decided it was the perfect place to offload his cargo of sugar cane trimmings from the Canary Islands. For nearly 150 years, locals cultivated the plant for molasses, honey and sugarcane juice. In 1632, the English colonized Antigua and Barbuda and brought with them their fermentation and distillation abilities – dramatically altering the intended use of the sugar cane plant.

Like any frontier, alcohol had to be imported and was expensive as a result. The invention of rum and the subsequent demand for this cheaper and abundant libation turned sugar cane into the island’s staple crop nearly overnight. Rum became so profitable that other cash crops like tobacco, indigo and ginger were replaced with sugar, the new economic backbone of the islands.

The first large sugar estate was established in 1674, and competition for rum sales – as well as the security that armed ships provided - quickly heated up. The Caribbean island governors concocted a plan to offer discount pricing on rum to the Royal Navy in hopes of gaining protection from the pirates of the Caribbean. As it were, pirates were making a killing – literally and figuratively – by capturing the prized cargo of lesser vessels and running the spoils (rum) to the heavily taxed colonies in North America and West Indies.