Singapore Orchid Series 10 Dollars - Dr. Goh Keng Swee Variety - Million Serial

A rare find, a Dr. Goh Keng Swee's variety of the Orchid Series notes with a million serial. 

Singapore Orchid Series 25 Dollar Banknote - First Prefix PMG Graded 64 EPQ

A nice piece of Singapore Orchid 25 dollars with First Prefix A/1, with PMG 64 EPQ grade.

Singapore Orchid Series 25 Dollars Banknote - PMG Graded 66 EPQ

This is an Orchid 25 dollar note with a PMG Grading of 66 with Exceptional Paper Quality. This grade is also know as GEM Uncirculated and is one of the highest attainable grade a note can have. There are only currently 2 Orchid 25 dollars in the world with a PMG Grade higher than the piece above. To attain such a grade, a note apart from being Uncirculated, it must also have good eye appeal as well as centering. This is especially hard for the Orchid Series as the notes printed back then were more often off centre.

Singapore Orchid Series 10 Dollars Radar Number Pair (Hon Sui Sen)

As above is a pair of running Singapore Orchid Series 10 Dollars banknotes (Hon Sui Sen variety) with an interesting Radar number of 696696. 

PMG Graded Singapore Orchid Series 25 Dollars

Grading of notes is actually a very subjective issue as it is an art and opinions do differ from one to another. Serious collectors sometimes do send their notes for a 3rd party professional grader to grade their notes. Notes which are graded professionally normally increase in value as they are verified to be authentic as well as given a grade. One of the popular graders that is being used currently is Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) which is based in the US.

The scan above is an example of a PMG Graded Singapore Orchid Series 25 Dollars, it comes returned in a plastic sleeve with a description, as well as with a grade. This particular note is graded as GEM Uncirculated 65 with Exceptional Paper Quality (EPQ) which is actually one of a very high grade. The highest grade on the PMG scale is 70.

Singapore Orchid Series Dollar Notes in 4 Varieties (1967-1976)

This is a set of the first series of Orchid dollar notes in all 4 varieties, signed by Singapore's first 3 Ministers for Finance.

Mr. Lim Kim San (Chinese: 林金山; pinyin: Lín Jīnshān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm Kim-san)

Dr. Goh Keng Swee (simplified Chinese: 吴庆瑞; traditional Chinese: 吳慶瑞; pinyin: Wú Qìngruì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gô͘ Khèng-sūi; 6 October 1918 – 14 May 2010)

Mr. Hon Sui Sen (Chinese: 韩瑞生; pinyin: Hán Ruìshēng; 1916 - 1983)

The first variation was signed by Mr. Lim Kim San, the second by Dr. Goh Keng Swee and the last two by Mr. Hon Sui Sen (with seal and without seal). The variety without Mr. Hon's red seal is not an error note but a less common note variety being printed. Out of all these notes, Dr. Goh's variety was printed with the least numbers. 

Singapore Orchid Series 1 Dollar GKS UNC

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

Singapore Orchid Series 5 Dollars HSS X 20 Running

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

Singapore Orchid Series 100 Dollar Banknote by HSS Without Seal

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

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.

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!

Consecutive Singapore Orchid Series 5 Dollars - HSS W Seal

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

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.

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.

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 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).

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.