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
