Scottsdale debut new Caribbean EC8 bullion coin program with Rum Runners for Antigua & Barbuda

Scottsdale have been issuing some great limited run bullion coins over the last few years, such as the Cayman Islands Marlin and Hokusai, The Great Wave and with this new announcement there’s confirmation that Scottsdale will continue to do so for some time. Starting with this new release, a programme of precious metal coin issues linked to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) countries will begin. Eight island nations are included in the programme – Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.

Some of these nations have never had a gold or silver bullion coin issued for them, but Scottsdale will change that with a unique design for each state being released throughout the year. It’s a great concept and as someone who worked on Anguilla for over a year, one of great personal interest. In addition to the bullion coins, there will also be proof variants with tighter mintages and a higher quality finish, although priced much higher, of course.

The first issue is for Antigua & Barbuda,  a beautiful place (although it redefines torture to try to sleep when the tree frogs are having a noisy night…) and one with a strong colonial history.  Piracy and rum-running was common and Scottsdale has chosen the latter as the subject of this issue. Depicting a sailing vessel offshore with some barrels of rum on the beach, it’s a decent debut and quite atmospheric. The obverse will likely be a common one for the series as each coin is legal tender in all eight places.

The bullion coin is available as a 1oz 0.999 silver (25,000 mintage) or 1oz 0.9999 gold (2,500) variant, and in addition to those there are a pair of proof commemorative versions with similar weights, but far smaller mintages. The proof coins have some selective colouring on the reverse face, something we’d prefer wasn’t there, to be honest. The proof coins will come boxed with a certificate of authenticity.

This is a very cool idea for a bullion series – something not done anywhere else at the moment and we hope it’s a success for them. We’re especially looking forward to the Anguilla release which is shown in the video further down, but there seems to be plenty of variety in the designs, so most will find at least one they like. Available to order now.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Scottsdale Mint, in partnership with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (“ECCB”), is pleased to announce an historic, first-of-its-kind gold and silver bullion and commemorative coin program – the “EC8”. The EC8 program will consist of four coins minted in 2018 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 2018 Coin Program. These coins are legal tender in the territories of all eight members that comprise the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

The 1 oz ECCB Antigua & Barbuda “Rum Runner” gold, silver, and gold color commemorative and silver color commemorative coins are the first issues in this new annual program. The coin’s image depicts an 18th century pirate ship heading out to sea after a pickup of some of the finest rum in the world from Antigua & Barbuda. Manufactured and distributed by Scottsdale Mint, each coin is struck in .999+ silver and .9999+ gold and weigh 1 troy ounce.

The Silver “Rum Runner” BU coins will ship in capsules on customized Scottsdale Mint branded skin boards of five (5) coins allowing for ease of sale by cutting the skin board into individual pieces for your customers while keeping them sealed.  The Gold “Rum Runner” BU coins will ship in Scottsdale Mint’s Certi-Lock® packaging.  The Silver Color Commemorative and Gold Color Commemorative “Rum Runner” coins will ship in capsules and custom box packaging.

LIMITED PROOF VARIANTS

HISTORY OF CARIBBEAN RUM RUNNING

Throughout the Caribbean’s colonial period, competition for rum sales and for the security that armed ships brought with them was fierce among the English Caribbean planters.  The Caribbean island governors supported selling rum to the Royal Navy in hopes of the move helping to keep the pirates of the Caribbean at bay. Pirates often made extra money running rum to heavily taxed colonies in North America and the West Indies.  As early as the 16th century, the British government employed “Revenue Cutters,” small lightweight vessels to stop the pirates and smugglers.

Antigua and Barbuda are two Caribbean islands, (Antigua, pronounced “An-tee’-gah” and Barbuda), that form a country that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Antigua and Barbuda is a Caribbean destination that’s both exotic and luxurious.  Here you will find a rich history to explore and some of the world’s finest rums. Antigua’s history of rum production dates back to the early 1700’s when sugar was first introduced to the island and quickly became the main crops produced on its plantations.

Sugarcane byproducts, such as molasses or honeys, or sugarcane juice, are the primary ingredients in the production of rum by a process of fermentation and distillation.  The distillate, a clear liquid, is then aged in oak barrels, thus aiding in the creation of the Caribbean’s world-wide sought after rum.

SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION $2 East Caribbean $2 East Caribbean $10 East Caribbean $10 East Caribbean
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver 0.999 silver 0.9999 gold 0.9999 gold
WEIGHT 31.1 grams 31.1 grams 31.1 grams 31.1 grams
DIAMETER 38.6 mm 38.6 mm 38.6 mm 38.6 mm
FINISH Brilliant uncirculated Proof Brilliant uncirculated Proof
MODIFICATIONS None Colour None Colour
MINTAGE 25,000 2,500 2,500 500
BOX / COA No / No Yes / Yes No / No Yes / Yes