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.

Vintage Singapore Charcoal Clothes Irons

In the olden days, where most of the Singaporeans still lived in villages, clothes iron like the above were actually used. My mother vividly remembers using one of these irons to iron her school uniform. She described it as a very challenging task as most of the school uniforms were white and if any charcoal bits escape out of the inner compartment of the iron, the uniforms would be stained.

Authentic Charcoal Irons like these are getting harder to find and there are many replicas flooding the market. One good method, though not foolproof, is to look for a Company Stamp behind the iron. These stamps are signs of authenticity of the irons and are proofs that these iron are sold by Singapore Companies.

Vintage 555 Double Key Pendulum Windup Wall Clock

555 is another brand of clocks commonly seen during the olden days in Singapore, besides the Diamond (Chinese) electric clocks & the Smith's (England). 555 is also a brand from China and this particular model dates back to the 1970s. This is a double key pendulum windup model which chimes at every half hour.

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. 

Vintage Beige Singapore Telecom Rotary Phone (NEC)

This rotary phone was sold when Singtel was still Telecommunication Authority of Singapore. There is a stamp with the letters TAS at the bottom of the phone. This should place this phone in the 1970s - 1980s. This is a NEC model very commonly used in households back then. Another popular rotary phone was the Ericsson LM, which was featured in an earlier post.

Singapore Telecom Vintage Flat Rotary Phones

This is another post on the Singapore Telecom Vintage Flat Rotary Phones. Below is a snapshot of 4 phones of different colours and makes of the same model. I have also learnt that back in the 1970s, the cost of installation of a phone like this would set a family back by 120 dollars, which was not a small amount back then.

In 1970s, the phone cable heads were also different, with a metallic 5 pin as shown below. In order for these vintage phones to work, the phone cable heads have to be changed to the modern ones.

Vintage Singapore Telecoms Flat Rotary Dial Phone

This is a vintage Singapore Telecoms flat rotary dial phone, a common household item to many Singaporeans who grew up in the 1970s-1980s. This phone is special as it is a hybrid between the round traditional type rotary phone and the flat iconic number pad Singapore Telecoms phone of the 1990s.