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”.

Transformers - Roll out

Transformers 4 is coming. I love Transformers and I have never failed to watch every one of the movies in the cinema. I like the simple mind of these robotic aliens. They are so truthful to other another and the theme is so simple – good against evil. There is no guessing game and it is plain simplicity. How I wish life is that simple. And, I like their quotes too. Some of them are so meaningful and so real. Allow me to quote a few:

 “You may lose your faith in us, but never in yourselves. From here, the fight will be your own.” These are cruel words but yet so inspiring.

And there is another one:

“Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing”. How true, how true, life is so unpredictable. At times, you have to make the decision of your life at the worst possible moment.

Anyway, if you are looking for a Transformer souvenir coin, you can get it from Singapore Mint. They carry our heroes ‘Optimus Prime’ and ‘Bumblebee’, but I think these are already sold out. There are still some ‘Megatron’ left, but I bet you would prefer an Autobot. These coins are minted by Singapore mint for Tuvalu and they are semi-numismatic. So, be careful because semi-numismatic has limited collectible value.

Lastly, I would like to quote the following from Transformers.

“It’s been an honour serving with you all.”

Kangaroo Bullion Coin

Before buying a gold coin, one of the most important questions is to find out whether this is meant for numismatic collection or investment purpose. Buying a gold coin is not cheap and it can set you back by a couple of thousand dollars. So, take your time to think over this. If you are buying the gold coin for investment purpose, then coins like American Eagle, China Panda, Canada Maples and Australia Kangaroo are some of the most popular coins in the market. If you are buying a coin for numismatic collection, then these coins may not be so relevant to you and it may be wiser to choose coins that are of limited mintage and rich historical values. Most bullion coins come with unlimited mintage and they will be produced yearly for the investors. They are legal tender in the country of production but you would not of course use it for your grocery shopping. The main purpose of the bullion coins is meant for investment and it should remain so. However, some bullion coins like China Panda and Australia Kangaroo come with limited mintage and the coins are minted with different design every year. However, I would consider these bullion coins as semi-numismatic at best and semi-numismatic coins usually carry very little premium above spot market prices. Nevertheless, Australia Kangaroo are really beautiful coins and every one of them comes with hard plastic encapsulation. The Australia Kangaroo has always been minted by Perth Mint since the 1980s. Other than Kangaroos, Perth Mint produces other bullion coins such as Koala coins, Kookaburra coins and Lunar coins.

Below is some information from Perth Mint regarding the mintage of the 1 oz Kangaroo gold bullion coin for the past ten years. Surprisingly, Australia Kangaroo 1 oz gold bullion coin will come with unlimited mintage in 2014 and this will definitely affect the numismatic value of the coin (if there is any in the first place). Anyway, bullion coins should only be worth the value of the metal.

Year	Max Mintage	Declared Mintage
2004	350,000	61,278
2005	350,000	68,428
2006	350,000	49,991
2007	350,000	46,891
2008	350,000	63,429
2009	350,000	298,016
2010	350,000	152,229
2011	350,000	190,681
2012	350,000	198,207
2013	350,000	341,417

*Declared mintage is the final mintage of the coin.
 

The sale of gold bullion coins normally follows gold price very closely. When gold price goes up, the sale of bullion coins tends to trend up. However, before gold price hit the peak in 2011-2012, the declared mintage had started to come down in 2010 and I believe this may be due to the fact that the price of the gold was getting too expensive and many investors felt that the escalating prices were not sustainable at that point in time. In gist, the risks and return of investing in gold bullion coins are similar to other gold investment such as gold futures and gold ETF. Perhaps, the only difference is that gold coin is physical in nature and you can take it out at times to admire it.

If you are really interested in purchasing a gold bullion coin after reading the above, then the next question is where do you buy the coin? The obvious answer will be to buy it from the most reputable store with the most reasonable price. In Singapore, you can buy bullion coins from many places and many of them will promise you that you can sell the coin back to them at a certain price. However, I am not really sure about the reliability of this scheme if gold price were to fall for a prolonged period of time. Personally, I prefer the most traditional and safest way – buy it from the bank. UOB carries some of these bullion coins and I believe their prices are quite competitive. They will give you a receipt after your purchase and you can sell the coin back to them anytime with the receipt. So, please do not throw your receipt away.

Coin Fair 2014 - Singapore

Today is the first day of the Singapore Coin fair 2014 and it is my 4th visit to the fair since 2011. Just like last year, the coin fair is held at MBS Sands Expo & Convention Center. Admission is free. There are more booths this year and I believe that some of them such as New Zealand Mint are new to the fair. Other than coins, you can also find bars and notes at the fair. However, I find it strange that Singapore Mint is not participating in this year's fair. Why is our national mint not featured in our own coin fair?

One coin caught my attention and I believe you should take a serious look at this coin if you are visiting this fair. This is a 31 kg pure gold coin from Austrian Mint and it is worth more than USD1.5million. Take a look at the picture below. I have taken a photo with the security guard standing next to it. Can you see the size of this coin? It is a huge coin and it is one of a kind. And, yes -  absolutely no luck, I have tried but I was told that we are not allowed to touch the coin. So, don't even think about it.

In addition, there are some talks that you may want to attend over this weekend. Other interesting coins that you may find in the fair include 30th anniversary Libertad coin set but you should shop around to get a good deal.

Good luck to finding your catch.

Macau Lunar Coin

Today is the 5th day of the Lunar New Year and I shall introduce a very interesting lunar coin - one that is made in Singapore but not about Singapore. That will be the renowned Macau Lunar Coin.

Since 2008, Singapore Mint has been minting these coins for Macau. One side of the coin depicts the Almanac animal while the reverse side shows one of the twelve UNESCO heritage sites in Macau. This is such an ingenious way to market the country's treasures to the World.

Below is the Ruins of St. Paul's in Macau and this heritage site was featured in the 2013 Snake coin. I was there last year (Not for the gambling though. I didn't even step into the Casino.) and I could tell you frankly that the smell of history was all over the place. The wall, the ground and every part of the building tell you a piece of Macau's rich history. This building was built 20 years after Macau was colonized by Portuguese in 1557.

 

 

 

Last week, there was an article in Sunday Times telling the readers about the type of coins that the investors should invest and Macau Lunar coin was featured in that article. In my modest opinion, I feel that these coins should not be valued by just their market value but also the historical value and message that they carry. Anyway, if you are a new collector of these coins, please take note that the mintage per year used to be 500 for the 5 oz Silver Lunar coin and 6000 for the 1 oz coin. However, the mintage has been suddenly increased to 2000 for the 5 oz coin and 8000 for the 1 oz coin in 2014. This will definitely create an imbalance for collectors who try to collect a complete set of the coins. Nevertheless, I am not too worried about the impact of the increase in the mintage to the general demand of this coin because this is a China coin and 2000 or 8000 mintage for a China coin is still considered very small. Furthermore, this coin has already won a few awards (Vicenza Palladio) since a few years back. So, it is definitely a good catch.

 

 

Rarity: 



Singapore Local Eagle silver coin

Imagine this. You have just graduated from school and there is practically nothing that you can list under your credential. You are nobody and very few know who you are. This was exactly how Singapore felt in the early 1970s, a few years into nation building. We need to tell the world about this island – our beautiful Singapore.

So, when we released our first commemorative silver coin in 1972, a local sea eagle was featured on the $10 coin. Yes, though we are small, we do have animals like eagles and deer on this island. I suspect that this is actually the white bellied sea eagle, the largest birds of prey in Singapore. This bird can be found mainly in the coastal area. I remember seeing one or two many years ago and I wonder where they are now. Later in 1976, this bird was again featured on the $10,000 note of the Singapore Bird series currency.

 

 

 

This silver coin was issued again in 1973 and 1974 subsequently.

 

Type	Mintage	Silver Content	Wt (oz)	Issue Price (SGD)
1972 Unc	80,000	90%	1	10.20
1972 Proof	3,000	90%	1	25
1973 Unc	80,000	90%	1	10.20
1973 Proof	5,000	90%	1	30
1974 Unc	100,000	50%	1	10.20
1974 Proof	6,000	50%	1	30

 
The average price of silver was about US$3 in the early 1970s. It has gone up a few folds since then. Unlike gold, you cannot pawn silver easily in Singapore, so I believe you will be able to find them readily in the market.

Rarity:

150th Anniversary of the founding of Singapore Gold Coin

When Sir Stamford Raffles, a British statesman, set foot on Singapore in 1819, little did he know that this little island would one day become a prosperous and developed nation. Nevertheless, he recognized immediately the natural attributes of this island in becoming an important trading port in the region – a natural harbour sitting at the tip of the Malay Peninsula.

At that time, there was no GPS (Global Positioning System) to guide the ships. To prevent the ships from running aground and to help them navigate safely through the narrow Straits of Malacca, lighthouses were built. One of the important lighthouses built in the 1850s was erected on a little rock called Pulau Satumu at the very southernmost end of Singapore. It was named after Sir Stamford Raffles for his contribution to this island.

When Singapore became independent in 1965, we were a very small country with no natural resources, high unemployment and practically little economic growth. Trading and commerce activities through the ports of Singapore dominated a large part of our economy. In 1969, when Singapore decided to issue its first commemorative coin, it featured the Raffles Lighthouse to commemorate the 150^th Anniversary of the founding of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles (1819 to 1969).

Below is a photo of this coin from SembCorp - the parent company of Singapore mint.

150th Anniversary of the founding of Singapore Gold Coin

Type	Mintage	Issue Price (SGD)
$150 Uncirculated Gold Coin (22-carat)	198,000	151.50
$150 Gold Proof Coin (22-carat)	500	225

198,000 uncirculated gold coins and 500 gold proof coins were issued in 1969. Gold price was about $40 over US dollars an ounce then. Over the years, gold price has gone up many folds. Hence, many of the coins were pawned and melted down for a tidy profit. My suspicion is that not many people realize the numismatic value of these coins at that point in time. This coin represents a very important part of the founding history of Singapore.

You can still purchase the uncirculated gold coins from the coin dealers at a premium. However, I doubt there are more than 10 gold proof coins available in the world. You will probably find them in auction houses selling easily for more than $10k and a good proof coin is very rare and hard to come by.

Rarity:



Copyright: This above article is meant to promote the understanding of the importance of these coins in the history of Singapore. If you need any part of it, please let me know and I will be glad to share with you.