Set of Uncirculated Singapore Bird Series Notes

Set of Uncirculated Singapore Bird Series Notes (1-50)

For Sale

Singapore Ship Series First Prefix Orange 2 Dollars

Singapore Ship Series First Prefix Orange 2 Dollars

GEM UNC (For Sale in Pairs)

1992 Brunei Commemorative 25 Dollars

1992 Brunei Commemorative 25 dollars note running pair

A/1 Prefix, GEM UNC (For Sale)

St. Helena's Last 1 Pound with A/1 Prefix

The Saint Helena pound (also called simply "pound") is the currency of the Atlantic islands of Saint Helena and Ascension, which are constituents of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It is fixed at parity with the pound sterling and is subdivided into 100 pence.

Tristan da Cunha, the third part of the territory, uses Pound sterling rather than the St Helena pound. However there are occasionally commemorative coins minted for the island.

Singapore Orchid Series 1 Dollar GKS UNC

The "rarest" variety signed by our late Dr. Goh Keng Swee.

Singapore Bird Series 5 Dollars A/1 Notes

These notes are the A/1 Prefix notes which are the first prefix.

Singapore Ship Series Set

I have a couple of the Uncirculated Singapore Ship Series Sets available for sale. Contact me for details. Cheers.

Singapore Orchid Series 5 Dollars HSS X 20 Running

A rare find of 20 pieces of GEM UNC Orchid 5 dollars in running sequence.

Vintage Sewing Machine - Chiyoda

Theres a sewing machine in my vintage items collection too. This is a fully working, Chiyoda sewing machine. This brand is relatively uncommon (Singer is the most common and popular brand back then), but from what I know, it is a Japanese company which used to produce sewing machines back in the early part of the 1900s. This set used to be a fully manual and mechanical sewing machine which does not require electricity. However, with the advancement in technologies, it was later modified with an addition of an electric motor which made sewing much easier.

For a read on sewing machine history, you can click here. Its an interesting read.

Vintage Electric Clock - Diamond Clock Shanghai

Many Singaporeans will find this clock familiar, be it in the old style coffee shops, granny's house back in the kampung days as it was a common sight in the 1970s to 1980s. The Diamond Brand clocks which were made in Shanghai were a popular choice for clocks besides the Smiths Electric Clocks from the U.K.

They come in a variety of colours such as green, black, beige etc and they look great in living rooms. Most importantly, they still function! I do have a couple of these spares for sale, so if anyone is interested in purchasing or renting one, you could always email me for more details.

A brief history of Diamond (Zuan Shi) clocks company can be found here.

MAS 25th Anniversary - 25 Dollars

A couple of doubles for sale. Email me for details!

Singapore Orchid Series 100 Dollar Banknote by HSS Without Seal

The second variety after Dr. Goh's in terms of collectors value.

Singapore Ship Series 50 Dollars

This post will feature Singapore's Ship Series 50 Dollars. As these notes are still fairly common and not very much sought after (currently), not many people would know that there are actually three varieties of this beautiful note.

The third series. Dark blue in colour with silver security thread.

The second series. Light blue colour with silver security thread.

The first series. Light blue colour with normal black security thread (visible when put through light).

Vintage Working Singapore Telecom Biege Rotary Phone

These are 2 vintage phones which I have on display in my room. The left red push button one maybe familiar to most of the Singaporeans above 25 - 30 years old. This red phone was an iconic phone issued by the Singapore Telecom back in the 1980s. This phone is dated 1981.

The beige rotary dial phone on the right was also issued by the Singapore Telecom. This phone is used back in the 1950s - 60s, when rotary dial phones were widely used before being replaced by the push button phones. The rotary phone can still be used, but for those people who have converted their home lines to Starhub Digital Phone, the phone cannot be used to call out anymore as they do not support pulse dialing. However, we still can receive calls using the rotary dial phone.

Rotary Dial History

The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. A patent was filed on August 20, 1896 by employees of Almon Strowger, namely, A. E. Keith and the brothers John and Charles Erickson. The Patent No. 597,062 was granted on January 11, 1898.

The modern version of the rotary dial with holes was first introduced in 1904 but only entered service in the Bell System in 1919. The rotary dial was gradually supplanted by Touch Tone dialing, introduced at the 1962 World's Fair, which uses a keypad instead of a dial.

Some telephone systems in the US no longer recognize rotary dialing by default, but will only support push-button phones instead, in which case the rotary dialing system would have to be ordered from the telephone company as a special feature, to support older customer equipment. However most actually do accept dial phoning without fail.

Vintage Singer Radio

This is a wooden box vintage radio that I have. I like its design with its selectors being mounted on a transparent panel. Singer is actually a brand famous for manufacturing sewing machines, thus a Singer radio is quite an interesting find.

For those who are interested in the history of radios, you can read more here.

Peranakan Style Chinese Wedding Basket

I have a very gorgeous Peranakan Style Chinese Wedding Basket in my vintage item collection as well. It is handcrafted by bamboo with elaborate designs and decorations around the sides of the basket.

Some Background

Betrothal 过大礼/纳彩 Up to a month and at least three days before the wedding day, the groom and a friend or a matchmaker will deliver the betrothal gifts on the auspicious date chosen.

Western and Chinese wedding cakes and peanut candies, together with two bottles of brandy, at least six tins of canned ham and even number of oranges are included in the wedding gift baskets. Two pairs of dragon and phoenix candles 龙凤烛are also included. Also included is gold jewellery from the groom's parents to the bride, such as the Cantonese Dragon and phoenix bangle 龙凤琢 or the teochew's four items of gold四点金.

Some include the bride's price with the betrothal gifts, whereas some will only present it when the groom fetches the bride.

Vintage Smith's Electric Clocks

These are my collection of Smith's electric clocks. The first one is a bakelite (an early polymer) model which I estimate to be manufactured in the early 1950s. The second one is a more recent model made of white plastic which I estimate to be about 30-40 years old. They are still functioning very well!

A Brief History

In 1931 Smiths, then called S Smith and Sons (motor accessories) Ltd., entered the domestic clock market and formed a new company, Smiths English Clocks Ltd., as the Clock and Watch division of S Smith & Sons (Motor Accessories) Ltd. Smiths were one of the first companies to produce synchronous electric clocks. These were put on the market towards the end of 1931.

Singapore Millennium Series 2 Dollars

Many Singaporeans may not know that besides having the paper & plastic versions of the portrait 2 dollars, there is actually another variety, which is the millennium issue. In year 2000, the portrait 2 dollars was issued with 2 red Singapore millennium logo and a single number as the prefix. Sets of these commemorative notes were packaged and released to consumers, while others were put into circulation for a year.

In this post, I will feature a set of the portrait millennium 2 dollars notes with the same serial. The logo with the numbers 0,1,2 are actually the prefixes (current notes have 6 digit serial numbers). I do have a few sets of these notes for sale, 1 set with 3 notes of the same serial is going for 15 dollars. Please email me at sgbanknotes@gmail.com if you are interested!

1935 Straits Settlements 1 Dollar

Singapore in the Straits Settlements refers to a period in the history of Singapore from 1826 to 1942, during which Singapore was part of the Straits Settlements together with Penang and Malacca. From 1830 to 1867 the Straits Settlements was a residency, or subdivision, of the Presidency of Bengal, in British India. In 1867, the Straits Settlements became a separate Crown colony, directly overseen by the Colonial Office in London. The period saw Singapore establish itself as an important trading port and developed into a major city with rapid increase in population.

British rule was suspended in February 1942, when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore during World War II.

Vintage Singapore Magazine - The Mirror

I never knew that Singapore used to have a weekly almanac of current affairs. For a young country, this magazine seems to be one of the important magazines that illustrates and showcases our progress to all our citizens. In 1967, we have the first batch of Officers graduating from the Officer Cadet School, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew giving a speech as the Prime Minister and Dr. Goh Keng Swee inspecting the commissioning parade of the first batch of our army officers. This was a very good read and I believe it marked a very significant milestone in our Singapore history. This magazine didn't come cheap, but I felt that it was definitely worth what I have spent!

Singapore Previous 5 Dollars Banknotes

Many people would know about the different varieties of the Singapore Orchid 5 dollar (3 different signatures, 4 varieties), however not many people know about the different variety of the Singapore Ship 5 dollars. In the scan, zooming into the serial number, one can find a distinct difference in the font, size and spacing of the serial number. This is because the notes are printed by different printers, namely Thomas De La Rue and Harrison & Sons Ltd, the latter being the later issue.

Vintage 1964 Singapore Sweepstakes

I bought this sweepstake ticket today and its interesting to note that the denomination is actually quite large. $1 back then can easily buy you a few bowls of noodles. I wonder how much was the prize money to entice people to fork out a dollar for this sweepstake ticket. Comparing it to the sweepstakes now (which costs a few dollars), the cost of buying one of these sweepstakes did not increase so much as compared to other things, such as our housing and cars.

Malaya & British Borneo "Buffalo" 10 Dollars Banknote

Malaya & British Borneo 10 Dollars Banknote features a buffalo and a farmer and is a recent sough after Malaya note due to its beautiful design. This note has also been used as images on red packets and numerous posters due to its attractiveness and bright colours. The price of this note has been steadily increasing and has even overtook the 1953 Malaya Queen Elizabeth 10 dollars note, though its a 1961 issue.

This note in this post is an Extra Fine note with sharp edges and strong paper. This note is not easily found in this condition nowadays, with many notes being VF and below.

Background

The Malaya and British Borneo dollar (known as the ringgit in Malay, Jawi:رڠڬيت) was the currency of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and Brunei from 1953 to 1967. The currency was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo. Prior to 1952, the board was known as the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya.

The Malaya and British Borneo dollar was used in Malaya after independence in 1957, and in Malaysia after its formation in 1963, as wll as in Singapore after its independence in 1965. After 1967, the two countries and Brunei ended the common currency arrangement and began issuing their own currencies. However, the Malaya and British Borneo dollar continued to be legal tender until 16 January 1969.

Singapore Ship Series (3rd Series) 1 Dollar Notes

This post will feature the more recent Ship Series. Contrary to popular belief, not all Dr. Goh Keng Swee's variety of notes fetch a high price. In this case, the ship series 1 dollar, almost all notes are signed by Dr. Goh. The more valuable variety will be the 1 signed by Dr. Richard Hu. This is because for this ship dollar, A/1 till D/14 are signed by Dr. Goh while D/14- D/20 are signed by Dr. Richard Hu. The supply of Dr. Hu's notes is much lesser as compared to Dr. Goh's.

Another interesting point is that the signature crosses over at D/14, thus D/14 notes are more collectible as it is termed the Cross-Over Prefix.

Vintage Working Singapore Telecom Biege Rotary Phone

Vintage Working Singapore Telecom Beige Rotary Phone

The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. A patent was filed on August 20, 1896 by employees of Almon Strowger, namely, A. E. Keith and the brothers John and Charles Erickson. The Patent No. 597,062 was granted on January 11, 1898.

The modern version of the rotary dial with holes was first introduced in 1904 but only entered service in the Bell System in 1919. The rotary dial was gradually supplanted by Touch Tone dialing, introduced at the 1962 World's Fair, which uses a keypad instead of a dial. Some telephone systems in the US no longer recognize rotary dialing by default, but will only support push-button phones instead, in which case the rotary dialing system would have to be ordered from the telephone company as a special feature, to support older customer equipment. However most actually do accept dial phoning without fail.

Singapore Bird Series $5 Banknote

One of my favourite notes thus far. This note has serial no of 67 (low no) which corresponds to the prefix A/67. This note is special to me as the number 67 is an integral part of my life.

Vintage Thermo Flask

I chanced upon this Vintage Thermo Flask at a shop and it was in a very bad shape with oxidised aluminium covered with layers of dirt and grease. This kind of thermo flask was very common back in the 1960s where water was kept at a hot temperature at home instead of using electric kettles. They were often also part of the dowry in traditional Chinese weddings. My mum claims that its known as Diang Gong in Hokkien. I spent an hour cleaning this item up and its ready for display!

Framing of Banknotes

Banknotes can also make a nice display piece when they are framed. They also make nice gifts and conversation starters! This is one of the sets that I have assembled with the Orchid and Bird series banknotes. I also do sell these framed up pieces which can be personalized(your own choice of frame, notes etc). so if anyone is interested, you can contact me at my email!

Set of Uncirculated Singapore Bird Series Notes

This is a set of uncirculated Singapore Bird Series notes which I have assembled. I have a couple of spare sets and they are available for sale as well as exchange with other Singapore banknotes.

Consecutive Singapore Orchid Series 5 Dollars - HSS W Seal

4 x Consecutive Singapore Orchid Series 5 Dollars - HSS W Seal

Vintage Boutique Hotel in Phuket

During a trip to Phuket last year, I came across a small boutique hotel quietly hidden behind the bustling streets of Phuket. This boutique hotel decorated its lobby with vintage items, and I felt that it was very well done!

Here are some photos to share!

Malaya Japanese Occupation Banknote (World War 2)

The Japanese Occupation of Singapore was a dark time in our history and one of the most iconic item that relates people to this period was the money used, which was also known as the banana note. This note was printed when the Japanese needed more money which led to hyperinflation.

"The Japanese issued banana money as their main currency since Straits currency became rare. The Japanese instituted elements of a command economy in which there were restrictions on the demand and supply of resources, thus creating a popular black market. The "banana currency" started to suffer from high inflation and dropped drastically in value because the authorities would simply print more whenever they needed more money; consequently the black market often used Straits currency."

Currently, this is one of the cheapest Malaya note that can be collected. I am selling this uncirculated 10 dollars note at 4 dollars each for anyone who is interested to obtain a piece of Singapore history.

A Brief History of the Japanese Occupation

The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore. The occupation was to become a major turning point in the history of several nations, including that of Japan, Britain and the then colonial state of Singapore. Singapore was renamed to Syonan-to (昭南島 Shōnan-tō), which means "Island of the Light of the South" or "Southern Island (obtained) during Shōwa period".

Singapore was officially returned to British colonial rule on 12 September 1945, following the formal signing of the surrender instrument at City Hall.

1959 Malaya & British Borneo 1 Dollar

Lately I have been blogging about vintage items and now I'm back to banknotes! In this post, I will share with everyone the 1959 Malaya & British Borneo 1 Dollar. For many non-collectors, they will not see the difference between the two notes that I have attached below. These 2 notes actually command a different price as they were printed by 2 different printers, namely Waterlow & Sons and Thomas De La Rue which are visible at the front face, middle bottom section of both of the notes. The Waterlow & Sons variety commands a higher price due to the lower supply of the notes.

Malaya and British Borne dollar

The Malaya and British Borneo dollar (known as the ringgit in Malay, Jawi:رڠڬيت) was the currency of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and Brunei from 1953 to 1967. The currency was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo. Prior to 1952, the board was known as the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya.

The Malaya and British Borneo dollar was used in Malaya after independence in 1957, and in Malaysia after its formation in 1963, as wll as in Singapore after its independence in 1965. After 1967, the two countries and Brunei ended the common currency arrangement and began issuing their own currencies. However, the Malaya and British Borneo dollar continued to be legal tender until 16 January 1969.

For more reading, click here.