Trinidad & Tobago | 50 Cents

Steelpan. During the 19th century the tradition of Carnival celebrations spread throughout the population and became just too exuberant with, in some cases, full-scale riots. This was followed by a ban on the unlicensed playing of all percussion. Someone discovered that the standard oil drum, a product of Trinidad’s fledgling oil industry, could withstand the energetic drumming of a percussionist. The traditional 55-gallon metal container could be adapted with a concave metal surface, giving birth, around 1939, to what is now known as the steelpan.