Value Of A 1788 Barbados Penny?

fmtaxguy- Wow, I would really like to see that. Would it be possible for you to post some pics so that we can determine the grade and therefore be able to give you the approximate value of the coin?

The 1788 and 1792 Barbados pennies are token issues, not official coinage. There are two varieties of 1788 that are often found in circulated condition, as well as a few varieties only known as proof patterns or restrikes.

Type III (large head, large pineapple) is the commonest, $25 in VF in my 2002 Krause. Type II (small head, large pineapple) lists at $100 in VF.

I think I overpaid when I paid AU$10 for my type III in a condition I'd call "Poor" back in 1997. These Barbados pennies are popular here in Australia because the date 1788 marked the founding of the first British settlement here.

Judging from the pics in Krause, the easiest way to tell them apart is to look for denticles around the rim. The "large head" type doesn't have denticles, while the example shown for the "small head" does.

I'll admit the pics in Krause aren't too clear, and there may be a more reliable way to tell them apart. But the only Barbados Penny currently in the free-to-access section of CoinArchives is this one, identified as a Type III (KM# Tn8) and doesn't have denticles, the same as mine.