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Guardian® bank notes

 
 
Singapore
 
    

         

 

 

Country overview

 

 

Republic of Singapore • Republik Singapura

Capital Singapore
Population (millions) 4.6
Area (sq km) 693
GDP per capita (USD PPP) 49,900

 

 

Polymer overview

 

 

Country ranking 2nd All varieties 18
Year of the first polymer issue 1990 Proof 0
Number of polymer issues 5 Specimen 5
Current status Polymer and paper Regular 13
New polymer issues expected? Yes Replacement 0

 

 

General information

 

 

 

Reference numbers from S5 to S9 are reserved for $50, $100, $500, $1,000, and $10,000 polymer bank notes (if issued).

 

 

 

 

Monetary Authority of Singapore

 

 

 

 

Minister for finance

Richard Hu Tsu Tau
(January 1985 to December 1997)
Chairman
Monetary Authority of Singapore

Lee Hsien Loong
(January 1998 to August 2004)

Goh Chok Tong
 

 

 

 

MAS: Handling polymer notes

MAS: General information on polymer notes

 

MAS Annual reports: 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08.

 

 

 

Bank notes for sale (additional offers)

 

 

Basic varieties of bank notes can be purchased further down this page from the bank notes' tables.

 

This table shows additional offers:

 

PIC REF. DESCRIPTION PRICE BUY
S1R1 P30. $50. Commemorative overprint 9 August 1990.
Note in folder. Image
€67.50
S4R1 P48. $10. Hsien Loong. Commemorative overprint.
Prefix MAS. Note in folder. Image
€53.50
S4R2 P48. $10. Hsien Loong. Without overprint.
First prefix 0AA.
€13.50
S10R2 P-new. $20. Without overprint. First prefix 0AA. €19.50
 

 

Bank notes

 

COUNTRY REF. CURRENCY DENOMINATION SIZE PICK PRINTER POLYMER
Singapore S1 Dollar 50 157x74 P30, P31 NPA Guardian®

REF. DATE SIGNATORY DESCRIPTION PRICE PICS
S1S1 9 AUGUST 1990 Tsu Tau SPECIMEN; serial number S000000 not given F  B
S1R1 9 AUGUST 1990 Tsu Tau commemorative overprint 9 AUGUST 1990 €63.00
F  B
S1R2 none Tsu Tau without overprint €58.50
F  B
 

 

Issued on 24.07.90. 300,000 S1R1 notes and 4,870,000 S1R2 notes were issued. According to a MAS report, cca. 2,500,000 S1 notes are still outstanding as of January 2006.

 

 

Prefix chart for Singapore S1
S1S1 S1R1 S1R2
A A B C D E F G H J

Prefix A appears on S1S1 and S1R1. Prefixes B to J (without I) appear on S1R2.

 

 

Certain $50 polymer notes have been issued with J prefix, which is considered by some collectors as a replacement prefix. The statement from the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore is: »We confirm that some of the notes with the J prefix were used as replacement notes.« Considering a high spoilage rate with printing the notes, it would appear that J prefix notes were inserted into bundles of other prefixes as replacements, which has been done by the BCCS (not the printer). However, it is impossible to determine which J prefix notes have actually been used that way. Since these 'replacements' have been created subsequently by the issuing authority and not by the printer, they do not qualify as real replacement notesthere are no replacement notes for Singapore S1.

 

 

Singapore, 50 Dollars, issued in 1990. Issued to celebrate the nation's 25th year of independence. The first President of Singapore, Encik Yusof bin Ishak (1910-1970), in the centre. Front: The country’s development is illustrated. The harbour and waterfront as existed in 1861 at left. At right, the container port of today and buildings of the financial district. Singapore is a major manufacturing and financial centre, and, in terms of tonnage handled, is the busiest port in the world. Back: The multi-racial character of Singapore is highlighted. A mixed group of jubilant Singaporeans at right. The sitting of the First Parliament at left.

 

 

Yusuf bin Ishak (1910-1970)

 

COUNTRY REF. CURRENCY DENOMINATION SIZE PICK PRINTER POLYMER
Singapore S2 Dollar 2 126x63 P-new OFS Guardian®

REF. DATE SIGNATORY DESCRIPTION PRICE PICS
S2S1 none Chok Tong SPECIMEN not given F  B
S2R1 none Chok Tong without squares under "EDUCATION" on back €2.50
F  B
S2R2 none Chok Tong with 1 square under "EDUCATION" on back €2.50
F  B
S2R3 none Chok Tong with 2 squares under "EDUCATION" on back €2.50
F  B
 

 

Issued on 12.01.06. MAS' FAQ on $2 polymer bank notes.

 

The new $2 polymer note

Description of security features

 

 

Three different varieties (S2R1, S2R2 and S2R3) of the Chok Tong-signed $2 bank notes exist. The difference is in the number of squares (0, 1 or 2) under the word "EDUCATION" in the back of each bank note. The purpose of these squares is unknown.

 

 

Singapore, 2 Dollars, issued in 2006. Front: The first President of Singapore, Encik Yusof bin Ishak (1910-1970), at right. The Money Cowrie, the cowrie that was most widely used as currency, as a background image at upper right. Back: The education theme is illustrated. Yusof bin Ishak always stressed the importance of education in promoting a better life for Singaporeans. At right, Victoria Bridge School, where Yusof bin Ishak studied when he first came to Singapore. At left, the College of Medicine Building, the first place of higher learning in Singapore. At the back, Raffles Institution, which produced many of the Singapore's leaders.

 


MAS issues $2 polymer notes (2005)

 

 

S'pore introduces $2 plastic notes (2005)

Rush for polymer $2 notes swamps banks (2006)

 

 

Yusuf bin Ishak (1910-1970)

 

COUNTRY REF. CURRENCY DENOMINATION SIZE PICK PRINTER POLYMER
Singapore S3 Dollar 5 133x66 PNL no data Guardian®

REF. DATE SIGNATORY DESCRIPTION PRICE PICS
S3S1 none Chok Tong SPECIMEN not given F  B
S3R1 none Chok Tong   €5.00
F  B
 

 

Issued on 18.05.07.

 

 

Singapore, 5 Dollars, issued in 2007. Front: The first President of Singapore, Encik Yusof bin Ishak (1910-1970), at right. The Gold-Ringed Cowrie as a background image at upper right; this cowrie is brown-green and has an orange-gold ring on its back. Back: The garden city theme is illustrated; Yusof bin Ishak was a keen gardener and orchid-lover. Trees, flowers and grassy spaces are plentiful in modern Singapore. At left, the old tembusu tree in the Singapore Botanic Gardens; the tree is over 150 years old and has been known to many generations of Singaporeans. At lower right, a bed of Singapore's national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim.

 

 

MAS issues $5 polymer notes (2007)

 

COUNTRY REF. CURRENCY DENOMINATION SIZE PICK PRINTER POLYMER
Singapore S4 Dollar 10 141x69 P48 NPA Guardian®

REF. DATE SIGNATORY DESCRIPTION PRICE PICS
S4S1 none Hsien Loong SPECIMEN not given F  B
S4R1 none Hsien Loong commemorative overprint Commemorative First Issue by MAS; 3-letter serial number prefix MAS €46.00
F  B
S4R2 none Hsien Loong without overprint; 1-digit & 2-letter serial number prefix €11.00
F  B
S4R3 none Chok Tong without squares under "SPORTS" on back €10.00
FF  BB
S4R4 none Chok Tong with 1 square under "SPORTS" on back €10.00
FF  BB
S4R5 none Chok Tong with 2 squares under "SPORTS" on back €10.00
FF  BB
 

 

Issued on 04.05.04. S4R3 issued on 01.02.08, the first prefix is 0AD. Print run for S4R2 was 10,000,000 notes.

 

Description of security features

 

 

Three different varieties (S4R3, S4R4 and S4R5) of the Chok Tong-signed $10 bank notes exist. The difference is in the number of squares (0, 1 or 2) under the word "SPORTS" in the back of each bank note. The purpose of these squares is unknown.

 

 

Prefix chart for Singapore S4R2
0AA 1AA 2AA 3AA 4AA 5AA 6AA
7AA 8AA 9AA 0AB 1AB 2AB none

Prefix MAS has been used on S4R1. Prefixes from 0AA to 9AA and from 0AB to 2AB have been used on S4R2.

 

 

S4R1 bank note with the serial number MAS000001 has been sold in November 2004 by Mavin International's auction for USD18,000.00. S4R2 bank note with the serial number 0AA000001 has been sold to Monetarium Singapore at Mavin International's auction in August 2004 for SGD20,640.00. More information on the note can be found here.

 

 

Singapore, 10 Dollars, issued in 2004. Front: The first President of Singapore, Encik Yusof bin Ishak (1910-1970), at right. A lion head left to the numeral, representing Singapore, the Lion City. The Wandering Cowrie, the most common cowrie found on Singapore's shores, as a background image at upper right; this animal is a shallow-water resident and grows up to 43 mm. Back: The sports theme is illustrated; Yusof bin Ishak was an outstanding sportsman. A jogger, a tennis player and a soccer player at left represent the most favoured land sports in Singapore; swimming and sailing are pictured to the right, representing water sports.

 


MAS issues $10 polymer portrait notes (2004)

 

 

Took note of new plastic $10 bills? Most didn't (2004)

 

 

Yusuf bin Ishak (1910-1970)

 

COUNTRY REF. CURRENCY DENOMINATION SIZE PICK PRINTER POLYMER
Singapore S10 Dollar 20 149x72 P-new no data Guardian®

REF. DATE SIGNATORY DESCRIPTION PRICE PICS
S10S1 2007 Chok Tong SPECIMEN not given F  B
S10R1 2007 Chok Tong commemorative overprint 40th Anniversary Currency Interchangeability Agreement €75.00 F  B
S10R2 2007 Chok Tong without overprint €18.00
F  B
 

 

Issued on 27.06.07.

 

 

Singapore, 20 Dollars, issued in 2007. Issued to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement with Brunei. Front: Encik Yusof bin Ishak (1910-1970), Singapore's first President. In the centre, the 'Dendrobium Puan Noor Aishah' orchid, named after the President Ishak's wife. Back: Two interlocking Cs (for 'Currency'). At the intersection, the state crests of Singapore and Brunei. At left, for Singapore, the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and buildings along its city waterfront. At right, for Brunei, the Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Mosque with the Royal Barge and the Water Village.

 

 

$20 polymer note to commemorate 40 years of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement (2007)

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement (2007)

 

 

Yusuf bin Ishak (1910-1970)