1920 SAINT LUCIA TEN SHILLINGS SPECIMEN NOTE

 

Last year, in our 2025 Summer Global Showcase Auction, we sold a specimen 10/- Shillings issued by the government of the Leeward Islands at Antigua. Dated 1st of January 1921, the note saw intense bidding, and realized $37,200. Now, a year later, we are working on the 2026 iteration of this sale, and a note came across my desk that is the perfect companion to that note, though it might be even rarer. At first glance, the notes appear identical, but a keen observer will note that our new offering was printed for Saint Lucia, and is dated a few months earlier, 1st October 1920. One of just two notes printed for Saint Lucia by the government at the time, it is the sole fully printed example in the PMG population report, with no issued notes or other specimens graded (we are aware of uniface black-and-white proofs, but those, in my opinion, are far less desirable). Not surprisingly, the note is the plate note in the Banknote Book, and in Pick it is listed merely as ‘requires confirmation,' with no picture or further details given.

What is now Saint Lucia was first inhabited by numerous indigenous groups as early as 3000 years ago (although evidence for early settlement is lacking), including the Ciboney, Arawak, and Kalinago (Caribs). European knowledge of the island dates to the early 16th century, and over the next several hundred years, several European powers, primarily the French and the English, fought over control of the island. The first European settlements were unsuccessful, as the native Caribs fiercely resisted European colonization, and the Europeans also struggled with disease and internal conflict. French interests purchased Saint Lucia in 1650, and the first successful French settlement followed the next year. Over the next 150 years, the island changed hands between the French and British 14 times. After the French were defeated for the final time in June 1803, British control was affirmed, and the island was officially ceded to Great Britain in 1814. At the time, the majority of the people living on Saint Lucia were enslaved. The French abolished slavery in 1794, and many newly freed slaves joined the French Army against the British. When the latter were victorious, slavery was reintroduced and remained in place until 1834, when slavery was abolished. (An ‘apprenticeship' system persisted until 1838, often cited as the true end of slavery in the British Empire).

Enslaved people were mostly put to work on sugar plantations owned by wealthy Europeans, and sugar became the island's primary cash crop. Throughout the 19th century, however, this began to change. Although sugar had once been central to Saint Lucia's plantation economy, the industry began to decline after emancipation. Without enslaved labor, plantation owners struggled to maintain the same production system, especially as many formerly enslaved people sought greater independence through small farming, wage labor, or subsistence agriculture. At the same time, Saint Lucian sugar faced increasing competition from beet sugar in European markets, and many estates were unable to modernize or remain profitable. By the late 19th century, several large sugar estates had already fallen into decline, and although sugar production continued into the 20th century, it became less and less important to the island's economy.

During the first four decades of the 20th century, Saint Lucia's economy remained heavily agricultural, but it was in a period of transition. The old sugar economy continued to weaken, while small farmers and estate owners increasingly turned to other crops. Diversification was especially important because peasant farmers played a central role in sustaining agricultural production after the decline of sugar. Bananas first appeared to offer a promising new export industry in the 1920s, especially after the Swift Banana Company began operating in Saint Lucia in 1923. By 1925, bananas were being treated as one of the island's chief exports, but the company's withdrawal in 1927 caused exports to fall sharply and left many growers without reliable access to foreign markets. A second attempt to develop the banana trade began in 1934, when the Saint Lucia Banana Growers Association was formed. Banana production increased again in the mid-1930s, but the industry remained dependent on foreign companies and shipping arrangements, making it vulnerable to overproduction, low prices, and global trade disruptions. By the end of the decade, Saint Lucia had not yet found a stable replacement for sugar, and much of the population remained dependent on small-scale farming, low-wage labor, and uncertain export markets.

With an already small economy in transition, it is no surprise that the need for paper money was limited. Private banks, primarily Barclays Bank (D.C.O.), supplied much of the Caribbean with higher denominations, and for most day-to-day transactions, British coinage was used. By 1920, however, silver coin shortages and hoarding caused significant problems, prompting the government to introduce two denominations of paper money into circulation. The specimen we are offering in our upcoming Global Showcase auction is one of the few fully printed examples of this issue to have survived. It will be an exceptional opportunity for the British Commonwealth or Caribbean collector and one that we surely don't expect to repeat anytime soon.

To read the complete article, see:
Saint Lucia Rarity Coming to the Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction (https://stacksbowers.com/saint-lucia-rarity-coming-to-the-summer-2026-global-showcase-auction/)

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