Singapore 3rd Series Coins

The Singapore 3rd series of coins are already out for collectors to purchase from the Singapore Mint. The 2nd series of coins has been in circulation since 1986, a good 27 years. There are 3 different sets on sale by the Singapore Mint, you can find them in the online shop here. The set above contains the 2nd and 3rd series coins with the same year of mintage - 2013.

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. 

Malaya Uniface 1940 10 Cents Banknote

Prior to the 1941 Malaya series, there is also a 1940 Malaya series, with the iconic uniface 10 cents banknote. This banknote should be the lowest value banknote with a serial number being printed. This note might be graded Very Fine, due to the various folds as well as the rust and foxing marks visible at the edges.

PMG Graded 1935 Straits Settlement 1 Dollar Choice About Uncirculated

Above is an example of a PMG Graded Choice Almost Uncirculated note. In recent years, the EPQ grade is not easily attainable though paper quality is original. From observation of the grading trends, most original quality notes with foxing will rarely get the EPQ grade, though the number grade is high like the above note. Nevertheless, a PMG 58 1935 note is also a good collector's item.

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.