An island in the Caribbean, Jamaica was originally settled by the Spanish but was taken by the British in 1655. It gained independence in 1962 and remains a member of the British Commonwealth to this day.
Early years saw Spanish and British coins being used, and not until 1972 was the first Jamaican gold coin issued.
Jamaica has been a British colony since 1866 and to this day retains strong ties with Great Britain. The Royal Mint in the United Kingdom continued to be the sole minter of coins for Jamaica up to 2011 after which a competitive bidding process was implemented. The Royal Canadian Mint, Royal Dutch Mint and Mint of Finland have all since produced coins alongside the Royal Mint.
All gold coins have been commemorative in nature.