Commemorative Notes to mark the 50th anniversary of the Singapore-Brunei Currency Interchangeability Agreement

On 7th Jul, long queues were seen outside some banks because of the launch of the commemorative notes to mark 50th anniversary of the Singapore Brunei Currency Interchangeability agreement. A lot of people would be wondering what is this agreement about. Is this some kind of common currency similar to EU currency in Europe? Well, the story behind this is much older and more meaningful to the people in this region, and I think we have to know it to appreciate this commemorative notes.

Long long ago, this region was under British's rule and the currency used was the Straits dollars. Then, came the Malayan dollar in 1939. The Malayan dollar was the currency of the British colonies until 1953. In a way, we had an equivalent common currency unit for a long time. This was beneficial to the people in this region because we shared similar culture at that time. This had facilitated trading and business activities to a large extent.

With the weakening of the British's power after World War II, we started to break up and became independent countries (Malaysia in 1957, Singapore in 1965, Brunei in 1984). Each country started to issue its own currency. Even with three separate currencies, there was a desire for a common currency unit to maintain the close ties among the 3 countries. Hence, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (still under British rule at that time till 1984) agreed to a Currency Interchangeability Agreement in 1967. This agreement allowed for the Singapore dollar, Malaysia dollar and Brunei dollar to be used as customary tender at par value in all 3 countries. Subsequently, Malaysia pulled out from this agreement in 1973. This currency agreement has really come a long way. By understanding the history behind this, it has become a lot meaningful to hold this notes as collectibles.

Next, let us look at the numismatic value of the commemorative notes. If you were to go back in history, the last commemorative notes to commemorate the currency interchangeability agreement happened in 2007. On 16 Jul 2007, 10,000 sets of one Singapore $20 and one Brunei $20 notes with matching numbers were printed to celebrate 40 years of the currency agreement. I am not sure whether we will get to see the next issue ten years later in 2027. Or, we may have to wait a much longer time before we get to see the next issue.

The $20 commemorative set of matching numbers is now selling for more than S$500 on ebay, way above the issue price of S$88. The current $50 issue has a mintage of only 5000 sets with matching numbers. This is definitely a lot rarer than the earlier set. I guess the value will go up over time.

I have put an extra 3-in-1 uncut notes on ebay. The mintage is only 3000. If you like to have one, please click on the link below.

http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/Brunei-Singapore-CIA-Singapore-3-in-1-uncut-sheet-/282575029585?hash=item41cac8c551:g:j4IAAOSw4HlZbM8z

Bitcoin - Is this a coin?

Before we start this debate on bitcoin, we have to understand the purpose of money and the reason for the existence of dollars and coins. The purpose of money is as follows:

• Medium of exchange - you can exchange money for goods & services and vice versa.
• Unit of accounts - $1000 is more than $500, and so on.
• Store of value - you can save money so that you can use it in the future

Dollars and coins are a form of money. Gold and Silver are another form of money. As for bitcoin, it has been accepted as a medium of exchange in some countries. It can be saved for future use. So, if bitcoin fulfills the various functions of money, it has to be a form of money. We can henceforth conclude that bitcoin is a coin. 

But, wait a minute. Is this really right?

Before we can consider anything as money, we must have the faith and confidence that this money will be recognized and accepted by the rest of the people in the world. You cannot simply declare your old stinky rag as a form of money, and you expect some idiots in the supermarket to accept this as payment for your groceries. It will not work. US dollar has the full backing of the Government of United States and so it is recognized as the de facto currency of the world. Singapore dollar is fully backed by Government of Singapore, and so Singapore dollars and coins can be used to pay for goods and services in Singapore. If anything happens to your Singapore dollars, you can demand for a full refund from the government. They have the full obligation to pay you back every single dollar and cent. This is what I mean by 'full backing'. There is trust and confidence that your dollars and coins will be recognized no matter what happens. So, who is backing bitcoin? 

Bitcoins are digital coins created by some complex computer algorithm. It is neither controlled nor backed by anybody. If you like, you can always 'mine' your own bitcoins. If anything happens to bitcoins, nobody has the slightest idea of who will be responsible for that. Personally, it is no different from the shopping vouchers that you can redeem when you do your shopping in the department stores. It is something that you will not keep for long because you never know whether the department stores will still be around in a few years' time.

I know. I know. Next question in your mind right now is 'What about gold?' Gold is not backed by anybody but it is widely recognized as a form of money. Shouldn't bitcoin be given the same recognition? The use of gold as money has been around for thousands of years. You can always exchange gold for money and vice versa in any part of the world. In short, I would only consider bitcoin as a medium of exchange but not a form of money. 

Macau Lunar Coin - Rooster

There is sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed. This is a famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi. It is exactly what has happened to Macau Lunar coin. The price of the Macau Rooster Lunar 100 patacas coin has gone up to a staggering S$1030 in the most recent release. If you consider the fact that the snake coin was priced at S$780 in 2013, the price of this lunar series has gone up by 32% in 3 years. Does this make sense? At the same time, the mintage has gone up to 2000 pieces from 500 pieces. The increase in mintage and price is double whammy.

This coin has always been a balloted item because demand always exceeds supply. It would be sold out before the lunar new year. The situation has changed completely this year. When I visit the Singapore Mint website today, this coin is still available for sale. It is not difficult to understand the reasons for this. When there are more coins and each coin is priced at exorbitant level, demand will fall. This is a common sense. So, why is the issuer doing this? I guess it could be due to greed and greed has led to a trouble mistake.

SG50 Notes

I just realized that I had made a prediction regarding the issuance of new currency notes more than one year ago. To be exact, it was made and blogged on 6th Sep 2014. See my last blog. Indeed, it has happened. Tadah, my crystal ball really works.

Nay, it was just an intelligent guess. A lot of people would have made the same guess too. No big deal. In fact, I am pretty surprised to see that they have chosen to adopt an enhanced version of the Portrait Series.

Will this new commemorative series become circulated notes? I hope so. The 5 key values of our Singapore spirit are captured right at the back of the $10 notes.

‘… regardless of race, language or religion…’

‘Opportunities for All’

‘Safe and Secure’

‘Strong Families’

‘Caring Community, Active Citizenry’. 

If you have not gotten the notes, do remember to get one.

Cheers

Is a new series of Singapore currency notes on the way?

Since 1967, Singapore has already issued 4 series of currency notes. We started with the Orchid series, then Bird series and Ship series before the Portrait Series today. Will there be a new series of currency notes coming soon? My gut feel is that there is a high chance that we may be seeing a new series of currency notes next year because of several reasons. Firstly, we are overdue for one. Secondly, it will be the most appropriate time to issue a new series of currency notes next year during our 50^th anniversary of nation building

Let’s look at the first reason. If you look at the table below, you will realize that the orchid and bird series lasted about 10 years. The ship series did pretty well and it lasted about 16 years. The current portrait series is in the 16^th year running and it will reach 17 years in service next year. In a way, this series is seriously due for a change. On top of that, there are advanced security features that were not available 16 years ago. We have probably reached the time to issue a new series of currency notes with the latest security features to combat counterfeiting.

	From	To	Years in Service
Orchid Series	1967	1976	10
Bird Series	1976	1984	9
Ship Series	1984	1999	16
Portrait Series	1999	???	16+

Secondly, next year is the 50^th anniversary of our nation building. What would be a better time to issue a new series of currency notes to commemorate this? In 2008, our neighbour Malaysia has issued a new 50 ringgit note to commemorate their 50^th anniversary of the country’s independence and this new banknote started the country’s fourth series of currency notes. Similarly, it makes perfect sense for Singapore to issue a new series of currency notes next year.

With all these facts, I am pretty convinced that we may be seeing new currency notes for Singapore soon. I think it will not be long before we get to hear more about this.

Singapore Native Orchid Coin

MAS has just launched 4^th series of the native Orchid coins. The first native Orchid set was launched in 2011 for Cymbidium finlaysonianum and Grammatophyllum speciosum. These are scientific names of the native orchids found in this region, and Grammatophyllum speciosum also happens to be the largest orchid in the world. It is better known as the Tiger orchid. The 1^st series were available for purchase individually or as a coin set.

In 2012, Singapore Mint introduced the 2^nd series for Arundina graminifolia and Bulbophyllum macranthum. However, this time, the best 100 pieces of each orchid coin were encapsulated in slab sealed with a security mint mark. During the release of the 3^rd series in 2013, Singapore Mint increased the slab version to 500 pieces. I am not sure of the reason behind this but this will definitely affect the value of the slab version because of demand-and-supply factor. And, of course, it has indirectly boosted the market value of the 2012 slab version because we only have 100 pieces of these coins to go around compared to the 500 pieces that have been released in 2013 and subsequently in 2014.

We know that not all coins are created equal. And, I believe this is the only coin series that come with slab capsule in the history of Singapore. However, slab capsule normally comes with the coin after grading by agencies like NGC and PCGS. This will preserve or even enhance the value of the coins if the coins are highly graded. I am not sure who have actually graded the native Orchid coins but it will be helpful if Singapore Mint can reveal some information regarding the grading services. The actual mintage of the 2011-2013 are given as follow:

	Name of Orchid	Actual Mintage
2011	Cymbidium finlaysonianum	3300
	Grammatophyllum speciosum	3300
2012	Arundina graminifolia	3150
	Bulbophyllum macranthum	3150
2013	Bulbophyllum flabellum-veneris	3600
	Dendrobium crumenatum	3700

By now, you will be wondering why there is no Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’ our national flower in all the series. Well, Miss Joaquim happens to be a hybrid orchid. It means that it is created by mixing certain species of orchid. So, I am not sure whether MAS will consider this as native flower. But, I really like to see a coin with our national flower encapsulated in some PCGS or NGC slab. Perhaps, they can consider doing that for our 50^th anniversary. If not, I guess it is still alright. Anyway, I prefer roses to orchids. Somehow, I believe red roses can bring good luck.

Hope you have enjoyed reading this article.

 

 

(Photo - courtesy from MAS website)

Updates to Transformers coins

I have just visited the Singapore Mint Great Singapore Sales at Toa Payoh Central this afternoon. Interestingly, they have brought in the latest series of Transformers coins from Perth Mint before the launch of the movie in Singapore next week. In my earlier blog posted last week, I have mistakenly thought that the past series of Transformers coins were minted by Singapore Mint. As a matter of fact, they have all been minted by Perth Mint as legal tender under the Government of Tuvalu.

This time, there are 3 different coins – Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Lockdown. Lockdown is a new character in Transformers 4 - Age of the Extinction movie. You can purchase these coins individually or as a set of 3 coins from Perth Mint. I was hoping to get the ‘Optimus Prime’ coin this afternoon (kind of miss the good old 'Prime'). However, Singapore Mint only sells the coins in set of 3. No luck then. For those who are interested in the coin set, the salesperson at the Singapore Mint Sales booth told me that the retail price is SGD $388. For members of Singapore Mint, there is a discount of SGD $30.

 

The new series are silver lenticular coins. So, if you move the coin, you will be able to see the transformation of Bumblebee or Optimus Prime. They are quite interesting and really living up to the famous Transformers’ quote “there’s more to them than meets the eye”.