Monday, April 26, 2010

Singapore 1974 Proof Coin Set

In this post, I will upload photos of the Singapore 1974 Proof Coin Set. Singapore Mint started minting proof sets since 1967. Mintages for the sets however, varies from year to year. In 1974, only a total of 1500 sets were minted as compared to 1985 where 20,000 sets were minted. This 1974 proof set is quite rare, as many of the 1500 sets were sold to collectors worldwide. I have purchased this from a coin dealer overseas.






Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Singapore Bird 1000 Dollars Banknote

Singapore Bird Series 1000 Dollars banknote is sized at 197 mm x 90 mm. The colour theme is purple, and the front of the note features the Brahminy Kite while the reverse features the a Container Terminal. It was issued in 7 August 1978. Note that the A/2 prefix for 1000 banknote is actually rarer than the A/1 prefix, as only approximately half of the serial numbers for A/2 prefix were printed, as compared to the full A/1 prefix serial numbers.





Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Singapore 5 Dollars Orchid Silver Coin

I chanced upon this beautiful coin one day and bought it immediately. This coin was minted in .925 silver in 1984 (20,000 pieces), commemorating 25 years of nation-building.






Sunday, April 11, 2010

Singapore Silver Colour 1 Dollar Coin

This should be an interesting post, have you even seen a silver colour 1 dollar coin before? Im talking about the current golden colour 1 that we are using, not the stylised lion from 1967 to 1984 coin.

There is actually a less known Singapore 1 dollar coin which was produced briefly, from the years of 1986 to 1987. These were the early years of mintage for the new design of the 1 dollar coin. An interesting fact is that during these 2 years, the 1 dollar coin is made silver in colour, with cupro-nickel and is much bigger than the 1 dollar coin we are using now, even though they have the same design.

This novelty and "rarity" of this silver 1 dollar coin had made the price of this coin go up for the past few years. Notice that the coat of arms is also different, with slight adjustment to the position of the flag.



(1986 1 dollar coin on the left, current golden colour 1 dollar coin on the right)


Friday, April 9, 2010

Comparison of a Proof and Non-proof Coin

In this post I shall use the 1972 Eagle Coin as an example. For Singapore non-proof coins, they usually come in a red coin holder and is not encapsulated. For proof coins, they come with a certificate of authenticity(apart from the 1972 coin, apparently the mint did not issue a COA for this proof coin), encapsulated and with a box. The mintage for proof coins are much lesser than the non-proof coins. (For 1972 Eagle, non proof mintage: 80,000. proof mintage: 3000) Another difference would be the finishing, a proof coin has a much intricate and mirror like finish.




Monday, April 5, 2010

Care for Notes

When I started collecting notes, I have tried to find a resource to teach me on how to store my notes properly but to no avail. In this post I shall briefly summarize what I have found out for aspiring collectors.

Singapore has high humidity and this would lead to foxing(formation of yellowish/brownish spots) on notes. Thus, the rule of thumb is to keep the notes dry.

Notes can be kept in plastic sleeves, either sealed or unsealed, but never laminated. A laminated note loses all its numismatic value.

Sleeves can be bought from any collector's shop, I would recommend Lighthouse brand for your more expensive notes. A cheaper alternative would be plastic sheets that can be bought from any stationary shop, which may not be as good as they may contain PVC.

Albums can be also purchased from shops.

Be sure to keep your notes and albums somewhere dry, definitely not in cupboards together with clothes as clothes contain moisture.

Do not touch your notes with your bare hands as your hands may have oil at the surface and this will leave a permanent oil stain on the note.

Do not use your thumb and index finger to rub the note, a weird but usual practice by Singaporeans. Thus, when showing your collection to others, do not take the notes out of their sleeves, and try to have a hard plastic case for the more expensive notes.

Do not frame up your notes and put them in direct sunlight as it may cause the notes to discolour.

Never attempt to iron or wash a note with detergent as it will spoil the note and lose all their numismatic value.

MAS also provides some tips on how to preserve your currency collection. Click here.

Singapore Presidential Series

Some people may question whether the current presidential notes are collectible. Answering that question, there is actually a market for the presidential series notes, but only in some forms.

Presidential notes that are being collected currently are the commemorative notes in folders, First/Last Prefix Notes, Solid Number Notes, Radar Number Notes, Ladder Number Notes, Fancy Number Notes, Low Number Notes and of course Error Notes. These notes are also collected in general for other series, as well as world notes, and of course these special notes fetch a much higher premium.

First/Last Prefix Notes - Notes bearing the First/Last Prefix being issued. For the older notes, A/1 is the first prefix, for the current issue, OAA is the First Prefix.

Solid Numbers - As the name suggests, solid numbers would mean a note with all the 6 serial numbers being the same number, e.g. *** 111111 or *** 888888. In Singapore, the favorite number would be 8, thus notes with the number 8 would normally fetch the highest prices.

Radar Numbers - Notes with serial numbers that reflect on themselves, e.g. 123321, 234432

Ladder Numbers - Notes with increasing or decreasing nos, e.g. 123456, 23456

Fancy Numbers - Notes with nice numbers, e.g. 777778, 777788, 888889, 000888

Low Numbers - Notes with low serial no, e.g. 000001, 000002


Notes with 8s

Singapore Bird Series Continued.

In this post I shall upload a few varieties of the Bird Series note, namely a Replacement Note, a Fancy Number Note, and Last Prefix Notes.

Bird 10 Dollars. The top note bears the Fancy Number of 888877, while the bottom note is a Replacement Note with a Prefix of Z/3.

Bird 20 Dollars with Last Prefix of A/80

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coin

Recently I developed an interest in collecting silver coins as well, not just for the numismatic value, also for its intrinsic silver value. The price of Silver has proved to be stable and gradually increasing throughout the years, and is still relatively cheap compared to gold. Therefore I feel that it is a good time to buy some before the prices go up. I have recently ordered a batch of 2010 Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coins and would like to share it with everyone. The actual coin looks much nicer in photos as it is one of the shiniest silver coins I have owned. If anyone is interested in purchasing it as well, I still have a couple of spares I will let go near my cost.

The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf is a silver bullion coin issued annually by the government of Canada. The coin has been minted by the Royal Canadian Mint (RMC) since 1988.

The face value of the 1 oz coin is 5 Canadian dollars, the highest among international silver bullion coins.. The purity of the coin is 99.99% silver, also the highest among other bullion issues which have a 99.90% standard.

The coin generally always features a maple leaf and generally consists of 1 troy ounce of silver.

The one universal element in all silver maple leaf coins is the phrase "Fine Silver 1 oz Argent Pur" along the bottom of the obverse of the coin.

(Stock photo)

(my coin, with my lousy camera)

(my coin with my lousy camera, scratches are on the plastic covering not on the coin)