Business Times Feature

A while back, a Business Times journalist approached me with some questions about banknote collecting and informed me that he was running an article. While surfing the net today, I found the exact Business Times article in PDF format. This PDF gives us an insight into banknote collecting and is a tribute to Dr. Goh Keng Swee.

Click HERE for pdf download.

Know Your Money!

I have chanced upon a PDF published by MAS which gives a detailed insight into the security features on our current set of portrait notes and would like to share the link with everyone who is interested!

Also, to clear the myth that Singapore old notes are worthless (All Singapore notes are legal tender unless mutilated), it is officially stated in this MAS publication that:

‘Orchid’, ‘Bird’ and ‘Ship’ Series (Past series)

· Full value will be awarded if both sets of serial numbers are intact and

half value if only one set of serial numbers is intact. The serial number

is considered to be intact if at least four out of the seven digits appear

in full. The prefix is to be treated as one digit

Click here for full PDF, its an interesting read!

Singapore Orchid Series $50 - LKS A/1 A/2 A/3

As mentioned before, some collectors like to collect the First Prefix A/1 or even the first few prefixes A/1 - A/3. As attached are the First 3 prefixes of Singapore Orchid Series $50.

Brunei $25 1992 Commemorative Banknote

Singapore Orchid Series 50 Dollar - HSS W/O Seal

In this post, I have attached the scans of the Singapore Orchid Series 50 Dollar - HSS W/O Seal. This note is considered the 2nd rarest note after Dr. Goh's variety. This variety of 50 dollars has only Hon Sui Sen's signature without his red seal. An explanation within the collectors community is that the red seal was not ready when the first batch of notes with his signature was printed. The later orchid notes were printed with his red seal.

This note can be considered as an Extra Fine note as light folds are found on the note.

2 Consecutive Singapore Orchid Series 5 Dollars Banknote

In this post is a set of 2 consecutive Singapore Orchid Series 5 Dollar banknotes by Mr. Lim Kim San. This set of notes are in an almost uncirculated condition. Some Chinese notes collectors prefer collecting notes which serial numbers starts and ends with 9. One interesting observation about this variety of notes is that the yellow flowers tend to be printed in darker and in a more obvious shade of yellow than the rest.

1941 Straits Settlements King George VI 5 Dollars

If you guys are wondering what has the Straits Settlements got to do with Singapore Banknotes, heres a short paragraph quoted from Wikipedia.

The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.

Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867. The colony was dissolved as part of the British reorganisation of its South-East Asian dependencies following the end of the Second World War.

The Straits Settlements consisted of the individual settlements of Malacca, Penang (also known as Prince of Wales Island), and Singapore, as well as (from 1907) Labuan, off the coast of Borneo. With the exception of Singapore, these territories now form part of Malaysia.

And now the 5 dollar note, with foxing, but still a beautiful note with strong paper, in its original sheen and quality.

King George 1941 Malaya 1 Dollar Banknote

Recently I have purchased a King George 1941 Malaya 1 Dollar Banknote. It has aged beautifully, without patches of foxing. It is in its original condition, with a light centerfold. In my opinion, it should be graded as EF. This note is also up for trade with fellow collectors or for sale.

Most Valuable Banknote in the World from Singapore

Singapore loves to be the first, be it our airport, our air quality and some may even say our government. These are always debatable, but we do have a definite first, which is the fact that we have the most valuable banknote in circulation in the world today.

One of the most valuable banknote in current circulation is the Singapore $10,000 note and is worth more than £4,800 at current exchange rates. The reason that its one of the most valuable banknote is because Brunei has a 10K note as well, and our dollars are pegged to each other. Our first 10K banknote was issued in 1967, while Brunei's was issued in 1989.

The note is used mainly for transactions between banks and plays little role in everyday spending even though it is accepted as legal tender. Nonetheless, it's highly unlikely you could ever use it outside Singapore.

The front of the handsome yellow note features the country's first president, Encik Yusof. The back of the note boasts a detailed reproduction of a computer chip research lab, said by the central bank to reflect "Singapore's drive to create a high-tech manufacturing hub". (uk.msn.com)

You can read the full article here.

Orchid Banknotes for Sale or Exchange

I was arranging my notes collection when I found some extra banknotes that I can either sell or exchange with fellow collectors. I have uploaded the scans to the Buy & Sell section. If interested, you can contact me via email to request for a detailed scan.

Cheers.

Singapore Orchid Banknotes Forgeries/Replicas

Singapore banknotes are one of the hardest banknotes to forge or replicate in the world. We have harsh penalties for people who forge our banknotes and use fake notes. However, enforcement may not be as strict in other countries.

As Singapore has one of the highest denomination of banknotes in the world, which is SGD 10 000 on a single note, people tend to forge our 10k banknotes more, especially so for the Orchid notes as they are less technologically advanced and easier to forge. Another reason is that people tend to buy these notes for collection and the forgeries may go undetected for a long long time.

Through my years of collection, I have chanced upon several forged/replica notes online and would like to share with everyone here. Buying a forged 10k note can be a very painful experience. If a deal is too good to be true, please think twice or even thrice. When in doubt, always consult a friend or someone who is more knowledgeable in that area.

Look at this image of the orchid 10k note. I have highlighted the suspicious areas. Do you know what are wrong with them? You can post in the comments sections or discuss in the forum.

Also, there exists another version of the 10k which is a reproduction as a charity ticket. It is easily distinguishable by a red reproduction word printed at the bottom of the ticket.

Singapore/Malaya 1 Square 1 Cent Coins

Did you know that Singapore used to have 1 cent coins in the shape of a square with rounded ages? These 1 cent coins are even bigger than our 10 cents coin we are using now. In the 1940s-1950s, a few of these 1 cent coins can buy you a meal. The one cent coins issued around the 1940s bear the portrait of King George, while those minted in 1953 bear the portrait of Queen Elizabeth.

Coins are also for sale

at

1 SGD each

Forum Added

Dear Visitors,

I have added a forum to my menu bar. It is quite easy to use and you can use it to ask questions or discuss about collecting banknotes. If you need to sell some of your old banknotes and coins, you are also welcome to advertise and post in the forum!

Cheers,

Nut

Singapore Orchid Series 100 Dollar Banknote by LKS

In this post, I have attached the scans of an Orchid $1000 Banknote signed by Mr. Lim Kim San. Back in the 1970s, 1000 dollars was quite a large amount and not many people could afford to keep such a large sum of money as part of his/her collection. Therefore, 1000 dollar notes are rarely found in a good condition, with most notes actually being in constant circulation, resulting in damages. Most 1000 dollar notes which can be found now are mostly circulated and uncirculated notes would most probably cost alot to own.

This is one of my favourite orchid notes, especially the purple and pink colours used, which matches very well.

Ladder No & Fancy No Singapore Orchid 10 Dollars

I have mentioned in my blog before that some collectors prefer to collect notes with nice numbers. I do not purposely seek to collect them, but I do have a couple of them in my collection by chance. These notes are well circulated and aged. Enjoy.

Repeated fancy no: 986986

Ladder no: 567890

Singapore Orchid 10 Dollars by LKS

In my opinion, an example of an Very Fine + (VF) to Extra Fine (EF) note. Sharp edges, with no signs of foxing. Bright colours with 2 light folds. Also for sale at $30 (SGD).

Issue quantity & date of Singapore Banknotes

I was just browsing through The Singapore Mint website where I found that they have revamped their website and included a page on the issue quantity and date of Singapore Banknotes.

I have noticed a odd co-relation between the quantity issued and the price of the orchid notes. The common saying is that the orchid 50 dollars' supply is very high, therefore the price is relatively low as compared to the 5 and 25 notes. However, a quick comparison between the quantity issued puts them at 62 million (50 orchid), 45 million (5 orchid), 50 million (25 orchid) pieces respectively. So is the 50 dollar orchid note grossly underpriced, or that the design of the note is not beautiful enough to drive up the demand? Another way to look at it is that someone out there is holding on to all the supply of the 5 and 25 dollars banknotes. Whatever the reason is, it definitely makes the 50 dollar note the most affordable orchid series banknote (by percentage of face value) in the whole series.

Link to share: click here

Cheers.

The large silver coloured 1 dollar compared to a normal golden coloured 1 dollar. Click here for the full post.

Notes for Display

If you are looking for a picture or painting to hang on your wall, why not consider hanging up a sheet of uncut banknotes? These banknotes are not very expensive, and may even cost less than a painting. Below is a sheet of 8 uncut USA 2 dollar banknotes, which are not commonly seen in circulation. The photo frame bought from Ikea costs 16 dollars, while the uncut sheet was bought at about 100 dollars from the Singapore Mint. In my opinion, it looks good on a wall.

For a more budget friendly and smaller poster, I do have uncut sheets of 4 USA 2 dollars for sale at 48 dollars for 1 sheet. It comes with a clear plastic folder with a description page.

1935 Singapore Straits Settlement 1 Dollar Banknote

This is a very nice piece of 1935 Singapore/Straits Settlement note in an extremely fine (EF) to almost uncirculated (AU) condition, with minor foxing and handling marks at the edges. This note also has a nice serial no of 50003. Notes from the 1930s generally has only 5 digit serial numbers. This is one of my favourite notes as it contains our main languages and a tiger on the front and back of the note which is unique to Singapore. Note that the Chinese writing used is the old writing system, also known as the 繁体字 (Fan Ti Zhi). This brings along a nostalgic feeling. It is a unique note where "east" meets "west" as it also contains elements such as portraits of the British Royalty.

10 Consecutive Orchid 25 Dollar Banknotes UNC

Above is a set of 10 consecutive Orchid 25 dollars banknotes. As mentioned in my earlier posts, these notes are relatively rare due to their limited print. To find a set of 10 pieces in running order is not an easy feat.

Singapore Orchid Series 1 Dollar HSS w/o seal

Saw and purchased this set of 4 consecutive Singapore Orchid 1 Dollar a few days back. It is a really nice set with no signs of foxing (yellowing), folds and handling marks. It is also fairly uncommon as it is of the HSS w/o seal variety.

Singapore Ship 10 Dollar Replacement & 50 Dollars Light Blue Fancy No.

The note featured above is a Ship series 10 Dollar Replacement note. Note the Z/1 prefix before the 6 digit serial numbers. These replacement notes are uncommon as printing technology has been greatly improved since the early days, notes which had defects when printing also decreased significantly.

The note featured above is a Ship series 50 Dollar note. This version of 50 dollars actually comes in a 3 versions, namely the light blue without silver thread, the light blue with silver thead (as above) and the dark blue ones. This note has also a fancy no of 777707.

Singapore Ship 10 Dollar Error Notes

These notes are in running consecutive order. Take note of the top margin, the printing is shifted up, or some would classify this error as cutting error. The top is significantly "cut" off, while the bottom has a larger blank space.

5 Consecutive Malaya 1953 Queen Elizabeth 1 dollar UNC

This is a set of 5 pieces of mint uncirculated Malaya 1953 Queen Elizabeth 1 dollar banknotes. These notes are quite hard to come by and for them to be in a set of 5 consecutive notes in this pristine condition is not easy. These notes were used briefly in Singapore from the period of 1950s to 1960s, and most of you grandparents would find them familiar. Back then, 1 dollar could easily buy you a few day worth of meals. During the Channel 8 shows aired recently which had scenes from the 1950s, these exact notes were being used as props in their sets.

You can view more of my Malaya notes under the Pre-1967 banknotes section of my blog.

Rare Singapore Ship 1 Dollar Banknotes

As mentioned previously, there are a few ways people collect notes. Some people like to collect the different signatures for a particular series (e.g. Orchid Series), special numbers, birthdays, the first of each series, the last of each series etc.

In this post, I am showing you the common but rare Ship series 1 dollar banknotes. Ship series notes were issued on 12th Jan 1987. For most people around my age, we would be vaguely familiar with these notes. Bring one or two to school, its enough to buy a couple of drinks at the school canteen or even a few nice, fancy erasers at the bookshop.

However, though these notes are common, this series of 1 dollar note was signed by 2 of our ex-minister of finance, Dr. Goh Keng Swee and Dr. Richad Hu Tsu Tau. Contrary to popular belief that all Dr. Goh's notes are more expensive, in this series, Dr. Goh's notes are the common ones apart from the D/14 prefix.

The reason is because while this series run from A/1 to D/20, only D/14 to D20 prefixes bear the signature of Dr. Richard Hu, while the rest of the A B C till D/14 series bear the signature of Dr. Goh. Therefore, due to the limited supply, the prices of Dr. Hu's notes are higher. Especially interesting is that for the prefix D/14, it is a cross signature prefix, with both Dr. Goh's and Dr. Hu's signature, with different font for the printing of the serial number.

In the scans above, I have uploaded the images of the D/14 to D/20 notes. Note the different signatures of the notes, as well as the last 2 digits, which are similar. These notes were taken from 8 different stack of 100 notes, to make out the same ending 2 numbers which makes them special.

Singapore Mint Silver Bullions

Apart from cashcards and coins, Singapore Mint also occasionally produces silver bullions and bars. This set of silver bullions were cast with the images of Malayan notes.

Singapore Orchid Series Cashcards

While I was arranging my collection, I found these interesting items. Singapore Mint has always been producing other interesting products apart from the large supply of coins they have released into the market. One of these products are printed cashcards. These cashcards below are printed with images of the singapore orchid series banknotes.

3 Consecutive Singapore Bird Series 10K Banknotes

This is a rare find, a set of 3 consecutive pieces of Singapore Bird Series 10K banknotes. The notes are very well preserved, with little signs of foxing and light centre folds.

Front design	:	White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Back design	:	Two scenes of the Singapore River
Colour	:	Green
Size of note	:	203 mm x 133 mm
First issued	:	1 February 1980

Singapore Orchid 50 Dollar Banknote by LKS

For sale at SGD 80. =)

Singapore Orchid Series 25 Dollars - First 3 Prefixes A/1 A/2 A/3

British Armed Forces Special Voucher

I chanced upon this unique note when I was notes shopping one day. I am unsure of the origins of the note, and know only as much as what is printed on the note. It was relatively cheap and I thought it was an interesting buy.

Singapore Ship Series 1 Dollar Replacement Notes

As mentioned earlier in my other blogposts, there are some prefixes that are sought after by collectors, namely the A/1 or Z series prefixes. A/1 is the first prefix, while Z prefixes are the replacement prefixes. They are called replacement prefixes notes as they are notes printed to substitute notes which are damaged in the printing process. Since the damage rate of notes during printing is low, the supply of these replacement notes is also low, thus making replacement notes rare.

In this post are Ship Series 1 dollar replacement notes of prefixes Z/1 and Z/2.

China 4th Series RMB Set

Recently I had travelled to Shanghai, China to visit a friend of mine and toured the place and some nearby states. It is amazing how China has developed over the past few years. The Expo was not too bad but its a little too crowded. The streets are much cleaner and people friendlier than the last time I was there. The cross state trains were clean and comfortable which were impressive!

I chanced upon a set of the 4th Series RMB on sale in a state called Wen Zhou and bought it. I'm no expert on China Banknotes, and hope I didn't get scammed, haha.