...Singapore - $20 Dated 2019 Bicentennial Commemorative 1819-2019 Polymer

Republic of Singapore
Republik Singapura / 新加坡共和国  / சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
Currency : Dollar (SGD)

This $20 polymer commemorative note was launched by the President of Singapore Ms Halimah binti Yacob on 05.06.2019 and was released on 10.06.2019 by nine major retail banks throughout Singapore. A total of 2 million pieces in folders were issued at face value. Each person was allowed to have 20 pieces at a time. In addition to this, a 3-in-1 uncut sheet (5,000 sets) were also included in this issue. These uncut sheet were sold via a tendering system limited to one sheet per application at a cost of S$280. As expected, these uncut sheets were over subscribed.

This note celebrates Singapore 200 years (Bicentennial celebration 1819-2019) of journey to nationhood since the first arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles on the island on 29.01.1819. The banknote pays tribute to eight individuals who laid the foundations for modern Singapore.

Design

Front - Singapore's first president Yusof Ishak (1910-1970), the former Supreme Court and City Hall (now the National Gallery of Singapore). The golden logo of SG 1819-2019 is printed on the left as well as the golden arms of Singapore. This note is only printed with the single word “SINGAPORE” on both front and back, instead of the usual four major languages in Malay, Chinese, Tamil and English;

Back - backdrop of old Singapore River flowing into the modern day of Singapore, eight pioneering individuals who had made significant contributions to Singapore during their life time.

Like the previous $50 commemorative issued in 2018, there are no tiny symbol printed on the back of this note. There are also no text descriptions on the back except the names of those eight individuals.

The eight individuals honoured on this note are;
Top row (L-R)
*Henry Nicholas Ridley (English b.1855-1956) - first director of the Singapore Botanic gardens;
*P Govindasamy Pillai (Indian b.1887-1980) - Philanthropist;
*Alice Edith Wilhelmina Pennefather (Singaporean b.1903-1983) - Badminton and Tennis champion;
Front row (L-R)

*Munshi Abdullah (Dutch Malaccan b.1796-1854) - Raffles's secretary and interpreter;

*Tan Kah Kee (Chinese b.1874-1961) - Philanthropist;

*Teresa Hsu Chih (Chinese b.1896-2011) - Social worker;

*Adnan Saidi (Malayan b.1915-1942) - soldier and World War ll hero; and

*Ruth Wong Hie King (Singaporean b.1918-1982) - Institute of Education's founding director.

This note celebrates eight people of all races that made significant contributions to the nation in various fields during their life time, but not all of them were born in Singapore. To give you an example, Tan Kah Kee was born in China and he made his fortune in Singapore. However he was not allowed to return back to Singapore by the British after the last World War because he was more sympathetic to the communist led by Mao ZeDong than to the Nationalist Kuomintang led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek at the time. He died in Beijing China in 1961, aged 86 and was given a State funeral by the Chinese government. It appears that Tan was a very generous person during his life time. Today, there is a train station in Singapore that named after him, including houses at schools, memorial museum in China, Foundation and even an asteroid (2963 Chen Jiageng) too.

This issue was so successful that some of the bank branches ran out of stock on the first day and the entire issue was all distributed within 5 days. On 14.06.2019, MAS announced a further 2.0M pieces will be printed and issued on 03.11.2019. Later it was reported that only 1.8 million pieces printed with more than 200,000 applications submitted for the second prints. The second batch of release restricted to Singapore citizen and permanent resident and each applicant can apply up to 10 notes. Application was opened on 16.09.2019 for 4 weeks until 13.10.2019.

I believe the cost for the folders were covered by the nine major banks and as such the folders were issued at face value. This is also benefited collectors around the world as one do not have to pay for the cost of the folder. 

The prefixes printed for this series are: -

Initial Issue - AA, AB, AC, AD and AE;

Reprint - AF, AG, AH and AJ (no AI)

First print prefixes are AA to AE and the second prints are AF to AJ but no AI (not confirmed yet)

First Print
Twenty Dollars

Dated 2019, Prefix AB

Dated 2019, Prefix AC

Twenty Dollars

Dated 2019, Prefix AD

Dated 2019 - Prefix AE

Reverse

Second Prints
Twenty Dollars

Dated 2019, Prefix AF

Twenty Dollars

Dated 2019, Prefix AG

Twenty Dollars

Dated 2019, Prefix AH

Twenty Dollars

Dated 2019, Prefix AJ

Reverse

Folder Front Cover

Footnote:-

No past or present politicians or even Sir Stamford Raffles himself are featured in the designs. Not even the watermark (if any). The portrait of Yusof bin Ishak is expected due to the current portrait series.

The above posts are all my personal opinions only. If you think that it is not correct, please feel free to let me know. I will correct it if I need to. Just remember that no one is perfect.

...Brunei & Singapore - 2017 Currency Interchangeability Agreement (CIA) with Brunei Commemorative $50

These are the two notes that were issued in a folder at face value, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement.

Brunei Fifty Ringgit

Dated 2017. Prefix E/1

Reverse

Singapore Fifty Dollars

Dated 2017, Prefix 50AA

Dated 2017, Prefix 50AB

Dated 2017, Prefix 50AC

Dated 2017, Prefix 50AD

Dated 2017, Prefix 50AE

Reverse

...Singapore (and Brunei) - 2017 Currency Interchangeability Agreement (CIA) Commemorative $50 Uncut Sheet of 3

Singapore S$50 uncut sheet of 3. Only 3,000 sets at S$400 per set.

Fifty Dollars

Dated 2017

Reverse

...Brunei & Singapore - 2017 Currency Interchangeability Agreement (CIA) with Brunei Commemorative $50

On 07.07.2017 both Brunei and Singapore issued a commemorative $50 polymer note each, celebrating 50 years of Currency Interchangeability Agreement (CIA) between these two nations. These two notes were launched on 05.07.2017 in Singapore at the Istana (Palace - official residence of Singapore's President) by the Sultan of Brunei Hassanak Bolkiah during his State visit and the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong.

Brief history of the CIA:
On 12.06.1967, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore all issued their own new currencies for the first time, after sharing a single common currency for so many years, the last called the Malayan Dollar issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currencies of Malaya and British Borneo (BCCMBB). Prior to the new releases, on 07.01.1967, all 3 countries agreed in principle in Kuala Lumpur to accept all their new currencies (both banknotes and coins) at their respective countries at face value following the liquidation of the BCCMBB on 12.06.1967. The main purpose of the agreement was to facilitate economic co-operation and trade relations between the three countries. However on 08.05.1973, Malaysia opted out from this agreement leaving Singapore and Brunei to continue with this unique arrangement until present day. What this agreement means is that Singapore dollars can be freely acceptable at all banks in Brunei without losing any exchange value (at par without any fees or charges) and vice versa for Brunei Ringgit in Singapore*.

On 16.07.2007, a $20 was issued by both Singapore and Brunei celebrating the 40th Anniversary of this agreement and fast forward 10 years, we have these new commemorative notes issued.

The theme for these commemorative notes is "Flourishing Growth". For these new notes, the Brunei $50 (1.0M pieces) and the Singapore $50 (2.0M pieces) were both released on 07.07.2017 to the public by 9 major banks in Singapore (DBS, OCBC, UOB, Maybank, SCB, HSBC, Citibank, BoC and ICBC) and in Brunei by the Baidun Bank, BoC, BoCHK, BIBD, Maybank, RHB Bank SCB UOB and Perbadanan Bank.

In addition to these two notes, the following limited numismatic products were also released in Brunei and Singapore;

In Brunei/Singapore:
**Two normal notes B$50/S$50 in soft folder cover at face value each;
(Quantity not sure but it is believed that the folder materials are funded by commercial banks in both Brunei and Singapore and that is why they have released these at face value)

In Brunei
**Coffee Table Book B$50/S$50 notes in hard folder cover = 1,000 sets at B$138 each;
**B$50/S$50 with matching serial numbered = 5,000 sets CIA prefix at B$300 per set;
**B$50 3-in-1 uncut sheet = 2,000 sets at B$400 per set (800 sheets sold in Singapore);
**B$50 8-in-1 uncut sheet = 1,000 sets at B$1,000 each (400 sheets sold in Singapore);
**B$50 40-in-1 uncut sheet = 200 sets at B$4,500 each (100 sheets sold in Singapore).

In Singapore
**B$50/S$50 with matching serial numbered = 5,000 sets CIA prefix at S$300 per set;
**S$50 3-in-1 uncut sheet = 3,000 sets at S$400 per set;
**B$50 3-in-1 uncut sheet = 800 sets at S$400 per set;
**B$50 8-in-1 uncut sheet = 400 sets at S$1,000 each;
**B$50 40-in-1 uncut sheet = 100 sets at S$4,500 each.

All Brunei numismatic products were released on 05.07.2017 and 07.07.2017 by Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) at their HQ, whilst those in Singapore was handled by the Singapore Mint on a pre-order basis made available between 05.07.2017 to 12.7.2017 and released on 18.07.2017. As expected, the demand was oversubscribed in Singapore and as such it went into a balloting system to allocate the lucky winners. I believe this is a fairer system as the previous 2007 $20 CIA commemorative issues were all sold out on day one (first-come-first-serve basis). Some of the Brunei 2017 products were also sold out on the second day of it been release.

Fifty Ringgit

CIA Prefix

Obverse; Sultan Haji Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Vanda Miss Joaquim (Singapore's national flower - purple orchid colour), Simpur (Brunei prominent flower - yellowish colour), Brunei Coat of Arms/Crest, 50th Anniversary Logo of CIA. The see-through, colour-shifting window security featuring the Istana Nurul Iman in Brunei and the Istana in Singapore. Prefixes issued - E/1 and E/2. Signature = Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

Reverse

Reverse; Defense (4 military personnel in ceremonial uniform), tourism (floating bridge at Ulu Temburong National Park - Green Jewel of Brunei) and (gazebo [bandstand] at Singapore Botanic Gardens, founded in 1859 - UNESCO World Heritage site) and education (4 students studying together).

Fifty Dollars

CIA Prefix

Observe; First President Yusof bin Ishak, Vanda Miss Joaquim (Singapore's national flower - purple orchid colour), Simpur (Brunei prominent flower - yellowish colour), Singapore Coat of Arms/Crest, 50th Anniversary Logo of CIA. The see-through, colour-shifting window security featuring the Istana Nurul Iman in Brunei and the Istana in Singapore. Prefixes issued - 50AA, 50AB, 50AC, 50AD and 50AE. Signature = Tharma Shanmugaratnam.

Reverse

Reverse; Defense (4 military personnel in ceremonial uniform), tourism (floating bridge at Ulu Temburong National Park - Green Jewel of Brunei) and (gazebo [bandstand] at Singapore Botanic Gardens, founded in 1859 - UNESCO World Heritage site) and education (4 students studying together).

The two notes basically feature the same design elements and layout and are predominantly gold in colour to signify the golden jubilee celebration.

Note* - Despite this agreement having been in place for 50 years, for some reasons, not all people in Singapore are eagerly willing to accept the Brunei currency on a day to day transactions, especially the younger generations. I believe this is mainly due to ignorance as many of them may not be aware that such an arrangement has been in place since 1967.

These two notes were designed by Encik Abdul Ajihis Haji Terawih (Bruneian) and a father and son team, Mr Eng Siak Loy and Mr Weng Ziyan (both Singaporeans). This project was first
started in late 2015.

...Singapore - 2015 Independence Commemorative SG50 Numismatic Currency Sets

Matching Serial Numbers Set #002905

Ten Dollars (all with 2-Diamond symbol on the back)

Dated 2015

regardless of race, language or religion

Opportunity for All

Safe and Secure

Caring Community

Strong families

Two-Diamond Symbol

Fifty Dollars

Dated 2015

Reverse

This is the third of the 4 items that I won for the Singapore SG50 Independence (50 Years of Nation-Building 1965-2015 series) commemorative series. This is a full set of the notes all with matching serial numbers of 002905. The $50 has the prefix of 50AA whilst the rest of the $10 are all printed with 5AA with 2-diamond symbol on the back. From what I understand all these are first prefix notes. I am also aware that there are $10 first prefix 5AA notes printed with only 1-diamond symbol. The $50 is the normal note and it has a star symbol printed on the back. In collection terms, these are considered as varieties to the normal issues with one diamond symbol. Based on what we know, this Independence series comprises 12 varieties - $50 with brown serial number, $50 with brown & blue serial number, $10 x 5 with one diamond symbol and $10 x 5 with 2-diamond symbol. This Identical Numbered set was sold by the central bank, Monetary Authority of Singapore, in partnership with Noel Gifts of Singapore as the distributor. Only 5,000 sets were put together for sale at a price of S$300 per set. The sales were oversubscribed and the allocation of buyers were then done via a balloting system. In general, 5,000 sets is still a lot in collectors terms. This is one of the 11 items of the SG50 Numismatic Currency issued to celebrate the country's 50th year of independence. In my opinion, this set is worth collecting, not just because all notes have first prefixes or matching serial numbers but also with the 2-diamond symbol printed on the back of the $10 notes. The last item that I won was the $50 with a $5 Silver Proof coloured coin folder. However as I am not a coin collector, I decided not to have it and therefore won't be posting it here. Obviously this set is not with me but still in Singapore.

Front Cover

...Singapore - 2015 Independence Commemorative SG50 Numismatic Currency Sets 3-in-1 Uncut

Fifty Dollars - Three In One Uncut Sheet

Dated 2015

Reverse

Here is another numismatic product issued to commemorate Singapore Independence Golden Jubilee 1965-2015. A total of 5000 sheets were offered to the public at an issue price of S$300 per sheet/folder. This $50 3-Uncut sheet is also printed with the special prefix/serial number of SG50 in blue and gold/brown colours (normal notes printed with just gold/brown colour and not with SG50 prefix). Based on the total single notes issued i.e. S1 (50,000), S2 (15,000), S5 (5,000), S6 (1,000), S7 (150) and S8 (100), which give us a grand total of 71,250 individual notes. However, I have sighted a single note with serial number commencing 090000+. In view of this, one can arguably say that at least 100,000 pieces were printed, unless the serial numbers used for this series were not printed in sequential order from say #000001 to #071250. Here I have not included those rejected notes that may have errors or flaws during the manufacturing process as I do not have such information with me. It is also not known if any replacement prefix is used either, however, if these notes were printed by NPA, then one would not expect any. From the above, it is fair to say that only 71,250 notes (including the 3 Uncut Sheets) were sold by Noel Gifts International Limited in various presentation folders. MAS may have retained certain quantities, either for their archive or to be sold, most likely via public auction, at a later date. Such notes would have low and fancy serial numbers printed on it, perhaps also including other uncut sheet varieties i.e. full sheet, half sheet, 8 uncut sheet etc. Your guess is as good as mine!

Front Cover

...Singapore - 2015 Independence Commemorative SG50 Numismatic Currency Sets $50

Fifty Dollars

Dated 2015

Reverse

Singapore celebrated it's Golden Jubilee Independence on 09.09.2015 and issued a set of banknotes ($50 x 1 and $10 x 5) to commemorate this special occasion. In addition to this, the Central Bank, in partnership with Noel Gifts of Singapore, also issued the following numismatic products (SG50 Numismatic Currency Sets) in special folders; -

S1 - $50 single note with special prefix SG50 in blue (qty 50,000) @S$85 each;
S2 - $50 sheet of 3-in-1 Uncut (qty 5,000) @S$400 each;
S3a - $10 sheet of 3-in-1 Uncut variety A (qty 50) @S$200 each;
S3b - $10 sheet of 3-in-1 Uncut variety B (qty 50) @S$200 each;
S3c - $10 sheet of 3-in-1 Uncut variety C (qty 50) @S$200 each;
S3d - $10 sheet of 3-in-1 Uncut variety D (qty 50) @S$200 each;
S3e - $10 sheet of 3-in-1 Uncut variety E (qty 50) @S$200 each;
S5 - Full set with matching serial numbers (qty 5,000) @S$300 each;
S6 - $50 single note with $5 Silver proof coin (qty 1,000) @S$300 each;
S7 - $50 single note with $50 Gold proof coin (qty 150) @S$1,400 each; and
S8 - Platinum set banknotes with $2 CN, $5 Silver and $50 Gold coins (qty 100) @S$2,000 each.

The above folder issues were distributed by a company called Noel Gifts International Ltd. The sales were offered to the public on a pre-order basis between 18.08.2015 and 11.09.2015. All items were sold out with the exception of item no 1. As demands exceed supply, items 2 to 11 were placed on a balloting process to determine the lucky winners. To me, this is a much fairer system as everyone has the same equal chance of getting what they wanted, rather than the first come first basis method they did in the 2007 $20 Commemorative notes set. Those who missed out on the 2007 $20 polymer commemorative notes set will know what I meant. In that serial, the entire 10,000 folder sets were sold out within 24 hours of opening to the public.

Whilst some of the items offered were very limited, especially the $10 3-Uncut sheets, it is not sure if more will be made available to collectors at a later date. I have a feeling that the above limited editions may only refer to the numismatic items in a folder issued in this content, perhaps with the exception of the $50 note (qty 50,000). Nothing was mentioned that these are the only uncut sheets ever printed available to collectors. Additional notes may be available by itself without the folder. In general, 50 sheets of 3-Uncut for the $10 note is very low, especially for such an important celebration. I am sure many local collectors would be very disappointed for not getting at least one piece. If you managed to get one at cost, then you are a very lucky person. Time will tell if we will see more of these at a later date. For the sake of the collectors, I hope we will.

Here I have posted the $50 single note with serial numbers in blue colour. The prefix for this is SG50, different from those normal issues. At the moment, the price for this issue is still very affordable if you can't get one directly from the distributor. At the time of my posting, this folder is still available for sale at Noel Gifts.

Front Cover

...Singapore - 50th Year of Independence 2015 Commemorative

Ten Dollars (15m pieces printed for each design)

Dated 2015

regardless of race, language or religion, 1 Diamond

Opportunity for all, 1 Diamond

Safe and Secure, 1 Diamond

Caring Community, 1 Diamond

Strong Families, 1 Diamond

Fifty Dollars(20m pieces printed)

Dated 2015

Reverse, 1 Star

A complete set of Commemorative Polymer notes of five $10 (dated 2015) and one $50 (ND2015). Singapore, aka the little red dot, celebrates it's Independence Silver Jubilee on the 9th of August 2015. The release of these commemorative notes was first announced on 13.04.2015 and were released to the public on 20.08.2015 by 9 commercial banks throughout the island. Singapore became a self-governing State following the general election in 1959 when the Peoples' Action Party (PAP) won a landslide victory. On 16.9.1963, Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah (North Borneo) joined together and formed a new country called Malaysia. However due to differences between Singapore and Malaya, Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and became an independent nation on 9.8.1965. Some would argue that Singapore deliberately acted and behaved in such a manner that it purposely wanted to get expelled from the Malaysia union. The reason for joining Malaysia in the first place was a strategic move to get fully independent from the British and from there by breaking away from Malaysia to become a fully independent nation. None of the Singapore PAP representatives attended the debate when they got expelled from Malaysia. This can only indicate their original intention when joining Malaysia in the first place. This is the second time in the history of Singapore that a design of banknotes featuring the image of the late former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (b.16.9.1923-23.3.2015). The first time was also on the $50 note which was issued in 1990 to celebrate the country's 25th independence. This new $50 note (quantity 20 million pieces) is printed in gold colour which represents the country's Golden Jubilee celebration. This note is printed with a year date of 1965. The five $10 notes (total 75 million pieces) all have common front design of the portrait of the first President Yusof bin Ishak (b.12.8.2010-23.11.1970) but with varying themes on the back - "regardless of race, language or religion", "Opportunity for All", "Safe and Secure", "Strong Families" and "Caring Community, Active Citizenry". As all notes are printed with the portrait of Yusof bin Ishak, the design of the portraits between the $10 and $50 notes are not the same. The new notes are also issued in a folder with all six notes, a total of 2.8 million folders, at no extra cost. These folders are sponsored by the 9 commercial banks that distributed the new notes to the public. This is indeed a good move to ensure the citizens of this country get these notes in full set at no extra cost.

...Singapore - $2 1992 Commemorative 'Error"

Two Dollars

Dated 1992, P31A

Reverse

 

Singapore - $2 Commemorative 1992. This is one of the rarer Singapore commemorative notes released in 1992 (3rd October) celebrating the tiny nation's 25th Anniversary of issuing it's own currency 1967 to 1992. The Board of Commissioners of Currency Singapore or BCCS (central bank) was established on 7.4.1967 following the breaking up of the monetary union between Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. Prior to that, these three countries were using the common currency called the Malaya and British Borneo Dollar. Following the establishment of BCCS, the country issued it's first banknotes (Orchard series) in 1967. On 01.10.2002, BCCS merged with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which then took over the responsibility of the issuance of currency in the Republic. The design of this commemorative is the same as the $2 Ship series (1984-1998) but with overprint commemorative text added on the right side of the note. This note is also considered as an 'Error' note as it has a spelling error on the commemorative text. The word "Commissioners" was spelled with the second "i" missing. Only 5,000 notes were issued at the official price of S$60.00 and were released together with a book called "Prudence at the Helm". Unfortunately I only got this note but not with the book and therefore I can't describe anything about the book. This note finally completes my collection of all commemorative notes (single note) of Singapore. Collecting older paper banknotes from a hot and humid environment, such as in Singapore, is always a challenge as one has to avoid buying a note that may have foxing on the note, especially if they are not cheap. Given that this note was first issued in 1992, and if the note was not kept in a cool and dry environment, chances are you will find them with yellowish spots on the note by now. This note has been graded by a banknote professional firm and was graded as EPQ 65 Gem Uncirculated.