National heroes of Jamaica

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Alexander Bustamante.

From Wikipedia:

Sir Alexander Bustamante (1884-1977) was a Jamaican politician and labour leader who became the first prime minister of Jamaica.

Bustamante is honoured in Jamaica with the title National Hero of Jamaica in recognition of his achievements.

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Jamaica, $1, 1969.

Sir Alexander appeared on the reverse of the Jamaica one dollar coin from 1969 to 1990.

The portrait was by Royal Mint artist Paul Vincze. The coin was a collector piece only.

See also:  Jamaica 5 shillings 1966.

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Jamaica, $1, 1993.

From 1990 to 1993, the first circulation dollar coin was issued.

It was minted in nickel-brass and carried a different portrait of Sir Alexander.

In 1993 and 1994 a brass-plated steel version of the coin was issued.

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Jamaica, $1, 2003.

From 1994 to 2008, a new smaller dollar coin circulated.

It was heptagonal and made of nickel-plated steel but bore the same portrait as before.

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Jamaica, $1, 2015.

From 2008 onward, the coin was made round but with a heptagonal inner rim.

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Marcus Garvey.

From Wikipedia:

Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was a Jamaican political leader, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). He founded the Black Star Line, which promoted the return of the African diaspora to their ancestral lands.

Prior to the 20th century, leaders such as Prince Hall, Martin Delany, Edward Wilmot Blyden, and Henry Highland Garnet advocated the involvement of the African diaspora in African affairs. Garvey was unique in advancing a Pan-African philosophy to inspire a global mass movement and economic empowerment focusing on Africa known as Garveyism. Promoted by the UNIA as a movement of African Redemption, Garveyism would eventually inspire others, ranging from the Nation of Islam to the Rastafari movement (some sects of which proclaim Garvey as a prophet).

Garveyism intended persons of African ancestry in the diaspora to "redeem" the nations of Africa and for the European colonial powers to leave the continent. His essential ideas about Africa were stated in an editorial in the Negro World entitled "African Fundamentalism", where he wrote: "Our union must know no clime, boundary, or nationality... to let us hold together under all climes and in every country."

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Jamaica, 50 cents, 1976.

Jamaica issued its first 50 cents coin in 1975.

It was 10-sided and portrayed Marcus Garvey.

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Jamaica, 50 cents, 1987.

Jamaica issued a commemorative version of the 50 cents coin in 1987.

It celebrated the centenary of Garvey's birth.

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Jamaica, 25 cents, 1992.

Until 1990, the Jamaican 25 cents had depicted a hummingbird.

From 1991 to 1994, that circular coin was replaced by a smaller heptagonal coin.

It portrayed Marcus Garvey.

The final 50 cents coin had been minted in 1990.

A new home was therefore needed for the Garvey portrait.

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Jamaica, 25 cents, 1995.

In 1995 the heptagonal nickel-plated steel 25 cents coin was replaced by a round and copper-plated coin.

It still carried the portrait of Marcus Garvey.

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Norman Manley.

From Wikipedia:

Norman Manley (1893-1969) was a Jamaican statesman. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. Manley was an advocate of universal suffrage, which was granted by the British colonial government to the colony in 1944.

Together with Osmond Fairclough, the brothers Frank and Ken Hill, Hedley P. Jacobs and others in 1938 he founded the People's National Party which later was tied to the Trade Union Congress and even later the National Workers Union. He led the PNP in every election from 1944 to 1967. Their efforts resulted in the New Constitution of 1944, granting full adult suffrage.

Manley served as the colony's Chief Minister from 1955 to 1959, and as Premier from 1959 to 1962. He was a proponent of self-government but was persuaded to join nine other British colonies in the Caribbean territories in a Federation of the West Indies but called a referendum on the issue in 1961. Voters chose to have Jamaica withdraw from the union. He then opted to call a general election even though his five-year mandate was barely half way through, but he lost the election.

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Jamaica, $5, 1971.

Norman Manley's full face portrait appeared on the 5 dollar collector coin of 1971.

This coin was produced by the Franklin Mint.


David Cornell was Director of Art at Franklin Mint at the time.

He provided me with the name of the designer of this portrait.

It was the English sculptor and coin designer, Philip Nathan.

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Jamaica, $5, 1972.

Unfortunately, Mr Manley's widow did not like the full face portrait of her husband.

A new portrait was designed by Franklin Mint sculptor Ernest Lauser.

It appeared on the $5 collector coin, issued in proof sets, from 1972 onwards.

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Jamaica, $5, 2014.

In 1994 a much smaller 5 dollar coin was issued.

It was round but with a polygonal inner rim.

It carried the same portrait of Norman Manley as before.

Presumably inflation had made a circulation coin of this denomination necessary.

To date, it has not been replaced.

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Paul Bogle.

From Wikipedia:

Paul Bogle (1822-1865) was a Jamaican Baptist deacon and is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay Protesters, who agitated for justice and fair treatment for all the people in Jamaica. After leading the Morant Bay rebellion, Bogle was captured and hanged on 24 October 1865 in the Morant Bay Court House by the British authorities.