Singapore Banknotes Ship $100 28-in-1 Uncut Sheet (Part 2) 新加坡一百元船舶系列28张连体钞-(第二部)

The Singapore Ship $100 uncut sheet has high numismatic importance and value due to its magnificent design and rarity. Therefore I’m doing a part 2 to give it better coverage.

Issued to commemorate 100 Years of Currency Board and 30th Anniversary of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), this $100 Ship Series 28-in-1 uncut sheet comes with two special overprints:

1. 100 Years of Currency Board & 
2. MAS 30th Anniversary

Specifications:
Date of issue: 10 July 1997.
Size: 661 x 547 mm
Signed by Minister for Finance Dr Hu Tsu Tau.
Special serial no: A/38 84xx90
All notes bear the same first 2 digits of 84 and last 2 digits of 90.
Come in a heavy wooden box.
Uncirculated mint condition.
Certificate serial no. and note's last 2 digits are non-matching.
Production: 100 sheets only.

Front design: Passenger Liner Chusan 
Back design: Singapore Changi Airport



Serial Number Configuration: 
This Ship $100 28-in-1 uncut sheet has 7 rows and 4 columns.
The serial numbers are arranged as follows.

1st column     2nd column     3rd column     4th column
840 090          840 790           841 490           842 190
840 190          840 890           841 590           842 290
840 290          840 990           841 690           842 390
840 390          841 090           841 790           842 490
840 490          841 190           841 890           842 590
840 590          841 290           841 990           842 690
840 690          841 390           842 090           842 790

All notes share the prefix A/38.

The first note on the top-left corner starts with the serial number 840090. The serial number of the note below increases with an increment of 100, consecutively to the last note at the bottom-right corner that ends with 842790. 

This arrangement is different from the Ship $2, $5 and $10 uncut sheets.



The “30th anniversary” overprint appears on the 1st, 4th and 7th row, on alternate notes. 

The “100 Years” overprint appears on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th row, on alternate notes.




So, how many “30th anniversary” and “100 Years” overprints are there?

The Ship $100 note is without a doubt a very beautiful note: distinctive colours and themes, large sized, majestic and intricately designed. 

The banknote was released to the public in 1985, that’s 27 years ago. The passenger liner on the front has probably gone to a metal scrap-yard and Changi airport has transformed from a “garden” (as depicted on the back of the note) to Asia’s busiest sky-hub; and it has begun to build its fourth passenger terminal two months ago. SIA's Boeing Jumbo 747 Big Top has all been retired years ago with the introduction of the A380s.




Time flies but history is permanently “etched” on a banknote.

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这张新加坡一百元船舶系列28张连体钞由于其宏伟的设计和稀有的特性，具有较高的历史意义和收藏价值。因此我做了第二部给它更充分的介绍。

这张连体钞的发行是为纪念新加坡货币专员委员会一百周年和新加坡金融管理局三十周年纪念而发行。连体钞上加印了新加坡货币专员委员会一百周年和新加坡金融管理局三十周年纪念的标志。在新加坡纸币上“加印”是相当罕见的。

产品规格：
由新加坡货币专员委员会发行（BCCS），发行于1997年7月10日。

尺寸：: 661 x 547 mm
由新加坡财政部长胡赐道博士签名。
所有纸币都有特别钞票序号A/38 84xx90 。
所有纸币与84开头，90结尾。
原包装附带证书和木盒子。证书编号和钞票结尾号码不相同。
限量发行100张。
品质：未流通及完好无损。

正面主题：客轮舟山号
反面主题：新加坡樟宜机场





序列号和号码排列设定：
这$100元连体钞有七行四栏共二十八张。

钞票序号和号码按如下方式排列：

第一栏      第二栏      第三栏      第四栏
840 090     840 790     841 490     842 190
840 190     840 890     841 590     842 290
840 290     840 990     841 690     842 390
840 390     841 090     841 790     842 490
840 490     841 190     841 890     842 590
840 590     841 290     841 990     842 690
840 690     841 390     842 090     842 790

所有钞票序号同为A/38。

从左上方第一张开始号码为840 090.。下一张号码加100，连续，从上至下，从左至右， 至右下方最后一张为842 790。

很明显的，这一张$100元连体钞的钞票序号和号码排列于$2元，$5元和$10元是不一样的。

新加坡金融管理局三十周年纪念的标志，加印在第一，四和七行，行内交替。

新加坡货币专员委员会一百周年的标志，加印在第二，三，五和六行，行内交替

那请问，三十和一百周年的标志，到底有多少个？





这是一个张非常漂亮的钞票。色彩和主题独特，居有吸引力。作为一张大钞，它的设计精致，内容充分，印刷精美。

发行于1985年-转眼27 年了！正面的客轮可能以轮落废铁场。樟宜机场以从一个“花园” 转变成区域航空枢纽，第四机场客运大楼也在两个月前动工。新航波音珍宝747也全部退役，改由空中巴士A380替代。

时间飞逝，时过境迁，但历史永久的“铭刻”在钞票上。

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Singapore Commemorative $50 Plastic Banknote

This $50 plastic banknote was issued to commemorate Singapore's 25th year of independence on 9th August 1990.

This special issue is of numismatic significance for a few reasons:

1. This is the first commemorative note issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS).
2. This is the first plastic note in the history of Singapore's currency.
3. This is also the first note designed in Singapore by a Singapore artist.

However the significance of this commemorative note is dampened by the unusual high production numbers issued under two tranches:

1. 300,000 notes issued with an overprint of the anniversary date "9 August 1990" that came in a special folder.
2. 4,800,000 notes (without overprint) issued for circulation.

Clearly the BCCS wanted each and every working citizen to own a piece of history. This suspicion was substantiated by a low issue price of $55 for the $50 note in folder and each purchase was limited to 2 sets ony.

The 4.8 million notes issued for circulation was a dry-run to test out the ability of the banking system to handle plastic notes. Although I have no knowledge of the outcome, I suspect it must be very challenging because plastic notes or polymer notes as it is currently known, were only issued for circulation some 15 years (estimated) later. 

Numismatic was a popular hobby in the late eighties to early nineties, and very quickly the 4.8 million plastic notes disappeared, into the hands of collectors and ordinary folks, hoping to make a few bucks. And a few bucks they could but anything more, would be quite impossible.

So let's take a closer look at the design of the note, the security features and how it impacts plastic notes of the future.

Specifications
Date of Issue: July 1990
Size: 157 x 74 mm
Signed by Minister of Finance Dr Hu Tsu Tau
Special Serial No.: Single prefix starting with A, follow by 6 digits.
Special Notes in Folder with Overprint "9 August 1990": 300,000.
Notes for Circulation: 4,800,000.

The most striking feature in this plastic note is the hologram (not sure if I use this term correctly), a silver substrate that shows the image of the first President of Singapore Yusoff  bin Ishak and five stars. This accordingly is the Optical Variable Device (OVD) that enables the image to be viewed from the front and back, and would give out a rainbow pattern when viewed at different angles.

The  front of the note depicts Singapore's transformation from a trading sea-port in the 19th century into becoming the world's busiest port, strategically connecting the East and the West.

The reverse of the note depicts a scene of the first sitting of parliament on 8th December 1965 and 'a jubilant mixed group of Singaporeans with the State flag behind them'.

Do you know who were the four cabinet ministers seated next to founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew? If you know the answer, tell us on our Facebook Page.

Based on the notes I have, a few of them did not have the last digit of the serial numbers printed correctly- it was only printed partially. This was probably a mechanical problem and it happened only to the set of serial numbers on the top right-hand corner.

Apart from the OVD, this commemorative plastic note also has some very advanced security features that makes it 'virtually unforgeable'.

1. Intaglio printing: 
or raised printing to give the embossed texture was widely used on texts and graphics.
2. Perfect registration: 
images that are exactly the same on the front and back of the note, such as the green Orchids on top of the OVD.
3. Micro-printing: 
printing that are so small, it's only visible under 10x magnification. For this note it's just below "YUSOF BIN ISHAK", and it reads "BOARDOFCOMMISSIONEROFCURRENCYSINGAPORE . . . ".

4. Shadow-image: 
like a water-mark in paper currency, an image can be viewed when it's held against light. In this note it shows the 25th anniversary logo.

5. Latent image: 
an image varies when viewed at different angles.  In this note, the BCCS logo.
6. Invisible feature: 
invisible under normal lighting condition but will glow brightly under ultra-violet (UV) light. In this note, the decorative outline of the OVD will glow brightly under UV light.
7. Fluorescent ink:
the serial numbers and seal of the minister's glow under UV light.

For the first time in the history of Singapore currency, the signature of the designer, Mr Chua Mia Tee, can be found on the note. 

This is the first and only note that bears two signatures: the minister's and the designer's. Well done Mr Chua!

So do the current polymer notes (Portrait series $2, $5 & $10) shared the same security features of the 1990 $50 note?

All except the OVD and latent image, they were replaced with the "gold patch", "complex clear window" and "embossed clear window".

So, why did it take so long from this 1990 plastic note to the current polymer notes? And why isn't there a $50 polymer note in circulation yet?

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Feng Shui Banknotes - Singapore Ship Series

If you take a closer look at the Singapore Ship series, you should see a colourful lithographic printed mythical creature, on the central panel, unique to every denomination (except the $2). I could easily recognize the creatures on the $1, $5 and $10 notes, but beyond that the creatures are so stylised I find it hard to tell what they are. So I asked myself: do other people know and can they tell or it’s just me?

To encourage participation, I thought of giving away a small prize (a Ship $2 Red 3-in-1 uncut sheet) to anyone who can tell me the answers of the mythical creature depicted on the $5, $10, $50 & $100 notes. Contradict to the idea, as the organizer I must know the answers in order to determine the winner!

So I checked the MAS website and to my surprise, they are not all mythical but rather auspicious creatures in the Chinese culture.

Why auspicious creatures? And why only in the Chinese culture and not other cultures? Is it about Feng-Shui, the ancient art of geomancy and astrology?

The Ship series (1984 – 1999) was the third series of banknotes after the Bird and Orchid. Clearly no mythical or auspicious creatures were found in those earlier series. So what were the designers and stakeholders thinking that led them to use auspicious creatures in our currency? What influenced them?

Let’s take a trip back into history at the time when the notes were designed. I guess it would be between 1980 and ‘81 when the design directions were decided and production begun in ‘82 and ‘83.

Singapore in 1975 had just survived the first decade of its independence and the seventies were tumultuous years not for the faint hearted. In the short span between 1975 and ‘79, catastrophes, communism and the cold-war machinery were not far away from our door-step.

Communist Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975- cities were purged and over 1.7 million people murdered in The Killing Fields. Communist North Vietnam captured Saigon and eventually unified as Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976. In the same year, Indonesia invaded East Timor and the Great Tangshan earthquakes killed over 240,000.

In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and Vietnam invaded Cambodia and overthrown the Khmer Rouge; China retaliated by invading northern Vietnam and in less than a month, both sides suffered a combined casualties of over 100,000.

The political landscapes in the region were transformed so quickly, you could almost smell it coming. So as a small country, we need to do whatever we can- every man and every creature, shall do their part, moving from strength to strength, to fulfil our destiny. And yes . . . we did.

So whether it was a desperate or intended attempt to improve our feng-shui and ward off bad luck, or merely a form of stylised art by having the auspicious creatures to make our banknotes look "auspiciously" better, as long as the promissory notes give confidence to the holders, then they have served us well. And I’d like to thank the designers and their higher-up for giving us this beautiful and majestic Ship series.

Auspicious Creatures in the Ship Series (1984 – 1999)
$1          Chinese Crane (鹤 symbol of longevity)
$5          Chinese Lion with a Ball (狮 symbol of power & majesty)
$10        Phoenix (凤 凰 symbol of prosperity, peace & good government)
$50        Mandarin Ducks (鸳鸯 symbol of fidelity, conjugal affection, peace & prosperity)
$100      Chinese Crane (鹤 symbol of longevity)
$500      Chinese Peony & Butterfly (牡丹 symbol of happiness & prosperity; 蝴蝶 joy & warmth)
$1,000   Stylised Phoenix (凤 凰 symbol of prosperity, peace & good government)
$10,000 Chinese Dragon (龙 symbol of benevolence, prosperity & longevity)
*The above information is taken from mas.gov.sg and primaltrek.com

Now if you're the note designer for the 5th series, to keep your job, you better have more Mandarin Ducks!! :-)))

I'm sorry I can't show you photo of the $500, $1,000 & $10,000 notes because I don't have any. If you have them and would like to share them with fellow enthusiasts here, pls email me. 

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Win a Ship Series $2 (Red) 3-in-1 Uncut Sheet!

To promote the hobby of collecting numismatic banknotes and uncut sheets, I will give away a Ship $2 (Red) 3-in-1 uncut sheet (with folder, issued in 1993 that’s currently worth well over S$70), to a lucky winner.

I will post a total of 4 pictures of a portion of a Singapore banknote in our Facebook Page on every Wednesday & Friday this week and the next.

To win the prize, this is what you must do:

1. Immediately tell us the series and denomination of the note, and the name of the object depicted (e.g. Ship series $2 Tongkang) on our Facebook Page. 
2. LIKE and SHARE the photo. 

This is how you will win:

1. The person who posts the correct answer fastest for all the 4 pictures will win. 
2. If there is more than 1 person who has all the correct answers, the person who is fastest on average will win. 
3. If there is more than 1 winner based on the above, I will pick the ultimate winner. 
4. I shall have full discretion to decide who the winner is, and it shall be final and indisputable. 
5. The winner will receive the prize via postal mail. 

The first picture will appear on this Wednesday 26.09.12.

Join us at our Facebook Page and win!

Singapore Banknotes Ship $2 25-in-1 Uncut Sheet BCCS Overprint 新加坡船舶系列二元25张加印连体钞

This Ship $2 25-in-1 uncut sheet is issued to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Board of Commissioners of Currency Singapore (BCCS).



This is a very unique piece of uncut sheet; it comes with a special commemorative text over-printed on the top border of the uncut sheet:

“In Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore 12 June 1992”.



To make this numismatic sheet even more unusual, after the commemorative text, the sheet serial number is also overprinted on the top right corner: “BCCS No: 0XXXX”.

The last 4 digits of the serial number coincide with the last 4 digits of each note.

As far as I know, this uncut sheet has achieved three “first”:

• First uncut sheet to have commemorative texts overprinted. 
• First uncut sheet to have the serial number overprinted. 
• First uncut sheet to have a 3-sided border around the sheet (top, left and right). 

Subsequent uncut sheets that have printing borders include the Ship $5, Portrait series $2 Y2K, $10 and $50 uncut sheets.

So I’d say this is a unique sheet but in terms of production numbers, it is quite large, probably in the ten-thousand range. But even so, very few can be found in the market.

Specifications:
Date of issue: June 1992.
Size: 675.5x 326 mm
Signed by Minister for Finance Dr Hu Tsu Tau.
Special serial no: Nx 2x3076
All notes bear the same last 4 digits of 3076.
Come in a wooden box.
Uncirculated mint condition.
Sheet printed serial no. : BCCS NO: 03076
Sheet serial no. and note's last 4 digits are matching.
Production: over ten thousand sheets (estimated).

Serial Number Configuration:
This Ship $2 uncut sheet has 5 rows and 5 columns.
The serial numbers are arranged as follows.

1st column     2nd column     3rd column     4th column     5th column

NR 203076     NS 203076     NT 203076     NU 203076     NV 203076
NR 223076     NS 223076     NT 223076     NU 223076     NV 223076
NR 243076     NS 243076     NT 243076     NU 243076     NV 243076
NR 263076     NS 263076     NT 263076     NU 263076     NV 263076
NR 283076     NS 283076     NT 283076     NU 283076     NV 283076

Based on the above, each column has a prefix that starts with the same serial number 203076, and the second digit changes in ascending order (0 to 2 to 4 to 6 and 8), from top to bottom.

This arrangement is different from the Ship $5 and $10 uncut sheets.



This is a beautiful note with a solid and attractive purple colour. This was the first purple coloured note and it has definitely done better than the orangey one. As a small $2 note, it is well-balanced and full of meaningful content that's iconic to Singapore. I especially like the “Chingay Procession” on the reverse that depicts the distinctive traditional cultural performances of the Singapore Chinese, Malay and Indian races, demonstrating the essence of racial harmony, a corner-stone of Singapore's multi-racial society.

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这张新加坡两元船舶系列25张连体钞的发行是为纪念新加坡货币专员委员会二十五周年纪念而发行。

连体钞上加印了新加坡金融管理局二十五周年庆的祝贺语和篇号。

加印祝贺语：“In Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore 12 June 1992”.

加印篇号：“BCCS No: 0XXXX”。

在新加坡纸币上“加印”是相当罕见的。

这是一张相当独特的未切割连体钞。它有三个第一。

• 第一张加印祝贺语的连体钞。 
• 第一张加印篇号的连体钞。 
• 第一张连带“三边印刷框” 的连体钞（上，左和右 ）。 

值得一提，平面印刷产品一般成品后都须切割到实际大小，边框都会被切掉。留下“三边印刷框”无疑增加这张未切割连体钞的收藏价值。 

接下来有印刷框的连体钞就包括了船舶系列$5元，肖像系列$2 Y2K（千喜年），$10元和$50元。 

产品规格：
由新加坡货币专员委员会发行（BCCS），发行于1992年六月。
尺寸：675.5x 326 mm
由新加坡财政部长胡赐道博士签名。
所有纸币都有特别钞票序号Nx 2x3076。
所有纸币与3076结尾。
原包装附带证书和木盒子。
编号和钞票结尾号码相同。
限量发行1万张以上（估计）。
品质：未流通及完好无损。

序列号和号码排列设定：
这$2元连体钞有五行五栏共二十五张。钞票序号和号码按如下方式排列：

第一栏           第二栏           第三栏            第四栏            第五栏
NR 203076     NS 203076     NT 203076     NU 203076     NV 203076
NR 223076     NS 223076     NT 223076     NU 223076     NV 223076
NR 243076     NS 243076     NT 243076     NU 243076     NV 243076
NR 263076     NS 263076     NT 263076     NU 263076     NV 263076
NR 283076     NS 283076     NT 283076     NU 283076     NV 283076

按以上方式排列，每一栏的序号从NR开始连接号码203076。号码的第二个数字升序排列。 从零 到二到四到六到八，从上至下。这组号码在每一栏里重复。

很明显的，这一张$2元连体钞的排列于同系列的$5元40张和$10元45张是不一样的。 

这是一个张美丽的钞票。紫色很有吸引力。这是第一张紫色钞票。比起上一张橙色的好得多。作为一张小钞票，它的设计均衡和内容充分。我特别喜欢在钞票反面的“妆艺大游行”。它描绘了独特的新加破华，印和马来族的传统文化，显示出种族和谐的本质，是现代新加坡建立多元种族社会的一个基石。

现在您可在脸书上找到我们。

Singapore Banknotes Ship $10 40-in-1 Uncut Sheet (Part 2)

My first post in this blog was on the Ship $10 40-notes. There has been some interests on this uncut sheet recently and so I'd like to provide more insights into this beautiful piece.

Specifications:
Date of Issue: January 1998
Size: 553 x 702 mm
Signed by Minister for Finance Dr. Hu Tsu Tau.
Special serial no.: D/8x 20x592.
All notes bears the same last 3 digits of 592.
Come with box and certificate.
Certificate serial no. and note's last 3 digits are matching.
Limited to 1,000 sheets only.

Serial Number Configuration:
This Ship $10 40-notes uncut sheet has 8 rows and 5 columns.
The serial numbers are arranged as follows.

1st Column:       2nd Column     3rd Column    4th Column    5th Column
D/85 200592    D/85 201592    D/85 202         D/85 203        D/85 204
D/86 200592    D/86 201592    D/86 202
D/87 200592    D/87 201592    D/87 202
D/88 200592    D/88 201592    D/88 202
D/89 200592    D/89 201592    D/89 202
D/90 200592    D/90 201592    D/90 202
D/91 200592    D/91 201592    D/91 202
D/92 200592    D/92 201592    D/92 202

Looking at the above, each column contains 8 prefixes, starting from D/85 to D/92. 

The first 3 digits in each column is the same: 
column 1 starts with 200, column 2 -201, column 3- 202, column 4- 203, and column 5- 204. 

The last 3 digits are the same throughout.

Did you realize this serial number arrangement is completely different from the Ship $5 40-notes?

On the front, the $10 note features a barter trading vessel Palari.

The Ship $10 note is very well designed with it's distinctive red colour. The graphics blend in perfectly to make this a good looking note. The embossed print effects of this note on watermarked paper allow you to feel it between your fingers. Visually it has a pop-up effect and it's so much more interesting than the current polymer portrait series which feel completely flat.

On the reverse of the note, a view of public housing and the map of Singapore.

Question: Do you know which other notes bear the theme "Public Housing" and the map of Singapore?

If you've the answers, please tell us on our Facebook Page.

Singapore Banknotes Ship $5 40-in-1 Uncut Sheet 新加坡 $5元船舶系列40张连体钞

This Singapore Ship $5 uncut sheet is quite unusual. Issued to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), it bears two (2) special overprints on alternate notes: the MAS logo and the MAS 30th anniversary logo. 

Overprints on Singapore notes are rare. 

Does the 30th anniversary logo looks familiar? Yes, it's the same logo used on the Ship $100 28-in-1 uncut sheet. These were the only two uncut sheets issued to mark the special occasion.

To make this uncut sheet even more collectible, the sheet actually comes with a printing border, something unusual: 

1. at the top     - a colour bar with alphabets indicating the columns
2. on the left     - arabic numbers indicating the rows & a set of printed numbers probably indicating batch numbers and, production date and time.
3. on the right   - a smaller border with markings.
4. at the bottom- a semi circle notch and a set of printed numbers

Top border: colour bar 顶部 - 颜色彩条。

Top and left border: Alphabet A, B, C, D, E indicating the 5 columns (on the top). 
Arabic numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 indicating the rows (on the left).
顶部: 字母A, B, C, D, E 标明五个栏。

左侧: 阿拉伯数字1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 标明八个行。

On the left border, a set of printed numbers probably indicating  batch numbers, and production date and time. If that's true, then the sheets were printed on 22 February 1995, at 7.38pm. That's about 30 months before the issue date. 

左侧: 一组可能代表生产批号，生产日期和时间的打印数字。如属实， 那此张未切割纸币是在一九九五年，二月二十二日，晚上七点三十八分生产。

So are you looking forward to 2015? In other words printing would be completed in 2013 (?). Final design and approval would be given in 2012 (?). What am I talking about? 

Ok, back to the Ship $5 uncut sheet.

At the bottom: a semicircle notch in between the first and second column. Anyone knows the purpose of this notch?
底部：半圆形的缺口在第一和第二栏之间。您知道该缺口的目的吗？

At the bottom right-hand corner, a set of printed numbers. Anyone knows what it means?
底部右下角：一组打印数字。您知道该组打印数字的意思吗？

On the reverse-side, the colour bar is at the bottom. The set of printed numbers is different from the front.
反面：颜色彩条是在底部。这组打印数字和正面的那一组稍有不同。

If you've engaged a printer in your course of work, you'd know this is the original print that comes off the press before the sheet is cut to it's required size.

Most uncut sheets do NOT come with the printing borders. The only other uncut sheet (pre-portrait series) that do come with borders would be the Ship $2 (Violet) 25-in-1, commemorating MAS 25th anniversary.

Specifications:

Date of issue: August 1997.
Size: 569 x 688 mm
Signed by Minister for Finance Hu Tsu Tau.
Special serial no: B/xx 9xx592
All notes bears the same last 3 digits of 592.
Come with box and certificate. 
Certificate serial no. and note's last 3 digits are non-matching.
Limited to 1,000 sheets only.

Serial Number Configuration:
This Ship $5 uncut sheet has 8 rows and 5 columns.
The serial numbers are arranged as follows.

1st column: 

B/28 959592 
B/28 909592
B/28 859592
B/28 809592

B/29 959592
B/29 909592
B/29 859592
B/29 809592

Based on the above, the entire sheet has 10 prefixes: 
B/28, B/29, B/30, B/31, B/32, B/33, B/34, B/35, B/36 & B/37; 
and 4 sets of numbers (959, 909, 859, 809) that ends with 592 and are repeated with each prefix.

My other Ship $5 uncut sheet (last 3 digit 593), also bears the exact prefixes, serial no. and configuration. 

Is it the same for all other Ship $5 uncut sheets? 
If you've one of this, check it out and tell us on our Facebook Page.

The Ship $5 note is well designed with a vibrant green mixed with yellow and red. A majestic reverse but I find it a less prominent note compared to the other notes of the same series because the Twakow, the star subject of this note, is overly subtle. To put it plainly it is too small without emphasis and there's too much empty space around it. Looking at it, I still can't tell what's a Twakow.


Questions:
1. Among the $2, $5, $10, $50 and $100 notes, which has the lowest "in circulation" numbers?

2. The beautiful reverse of the Ship $5 note showcases the Merlion and the PSA container terminal. Is this the terminal at Keppel or West Coast? The 5-storey building could be a clue.

If you've the answers, please tell us on our Facebook Page.

So with this, the publication for the Ship series is complete ($2, $5, $10, $50 & $100). I will provide an update for the Ship $10, $50 and $100 in the near future.

Hope you like it so far. And please LIKE us on Facebook.

新加坡 $5元船舶系列40张未切割纸币

这是一张相当不寻常的未切割纸币。

为新加坡金融管理局三十周年纪念而发行。纸币上加印了新加坡金融管理局和三十周年庆的双标志。

加印在新加坡纸币是相当罕见的。

这个三十周年庆的标志看起来是不是很熟悉？是的，这个标志也用在一百元船舶系列28张未切割纸币上。这是仅有的两张为新加坡金融管理局三十周年纪念而特别发行的未切割纸币。

值得一提的，这张未切割纸币还连带了一个印刷框。一般的印刷框都会被切掉。这无疑增加这张未切割纸币的收藏价值。

这张未切割纸币的特点包括：
顶部 - 颜色彩条和用字母标明的栏。
左侧 - 用阿拉伯数字标明的行和一组可能代表生产批号，生产日期和时间的打印数字。
右侧 - 一个较小有标记的边框。
底部 - 一个半圆形的缺口和一组打印数字。

平面印刷产品， 成品后都须切割到实际大小，边框都会被切掉。

多数未切割纸币张都没边框。如没记错，另一张有边框的是$2元船舶系列25张未切割纸币，为新加坡金融管理局二十五周年纪念发行的。

产品规格：
由新加坡货币专员委员会发行（BCCS），发行于1998年八月。
尺寸：569 x 688 mm
由新加坡财政部长胡赐道博士签名。
所有纸币都有特别钞票序号D/XX XXX592。
所有纸币与592结尾。
原包装附带证书和盒子。
证书号码和钞票结尾号码不相同。
严格限量1千张。
品质：未流通及完好无损。

序列号和号码排列设定：
这$5元未切割纸币张有八行五栏共四十张。钞票序号和号码按如下方式排列：

第一列
B/28 959592
B/28 909592
B/28 859592
B/28 809592
B/29 959592
B/29 909592
B/29 859592
B/29 809592

按以上方式排列，整张有10个序号：

B /28, B/29, B/30, B/31, B/32, B/33, B/34, B/35, B/36 & B/37;
和四组号码 (959, 909, 859, 809) 接相同结尾号码592;
这四组号码在每个序号里重复。

我的另一张$5元未切割纸币（以593结尾）序列号和号码也按如上方式排列。如果您也有相同的$5元未切割纸币 ，请去查看排列是否一样，并在我们的Facebook页面上告诉我们您的发现。



这张船系列五元纸币设计相当美观。以绿色为主色搭配红和黄。反面的设计相当壮丽。反观正面比起其他同系列的设计，就逊色了。船舶作为主题，画面太小，空洞太多，失去壮丽感。

在此，船舶系列的未切割纸币以介绍完毕。在不久的将来我会为大家更新船舶系列的十元，五十元和一百元未切割纸币的照片和更深入的介绍。

希望您对我的作品感到满意。 请到我们的Facebook页面上“喜欢”我们。

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We hope to build up a network of collectors to better our community and our collections.

Printers of Singapore Banknotes Orchid Series

Do you know who are the printers of the Orchid series banknotes?

You will not fail to notice on the reverse-side of the Orchid notes, at the bottom centre, in fine print: 

1. Bradbury Wilkinson & Co. Ld New Maiden, Surrey, England
2. Thomas De La Rue & Company, Limited.

These were the only two printers of the Singapore Orchid series banknotes.

Do you know which notes did they print?

Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co printed the Orchid $1, $5 and $100.
Thomas De La Rue & Company printed the Orchid $10, $25 and $50.

Based on the above printing order of the Orchid banknotes, would it be the same for the Bird series (and the Ship & Portrait)? 

Stay tuned.

Singapore Orchid Specimen Banknotes - LKS Reverse (Part 2)

As you may know, a 5-note HSS Orchid Specimen set was auction-off for a lackluster three thousand over dollars in 2010. That was the only set that was sold publicly, and as a result it set a benchmark price for the Orchid Specimen 5-note set in 2010. No other set came up in the market after that. 

So what's the market price of the Orchid Specimen Set in 2012?

A fellow collector who bought the Ship $100 28-in-1 uncut sheet from me, requested I sell him my Orchid Specimen sets. So I offered him 3 sets: Orchid 5-notes LKS, Orchid 5-notes HSS and Bird 6-notes HSS, at a low 5 figure sum. Obviously the 2010 benchmark price was brought up and the deal fell through. I wouldn't blame him because no one is sure about the present price. 

But I'm keen to know what's the market price, so I put  up a LKS 5-note set on our friendly auction site and BANG!!! I received multiple offers, emails after emails, ranging from dealers to collectors and at the last minute before the auction closes, Mr. L made his move and the set was sold and a new benchmark price was set. 

Thanks to Mr. L, I've the opportunity to take out the set and let it see some daylight. Since it is going to a new home, I must take some photo: yes I didn't bother for 25 long years!!! 

Below are the reverse-side of the Orchid Specimen 5-notes set, signed by Lim Kim San and limited to 77 sets only.

$1 note: public housing;  Housing & Development Board (HDB) 10-storey tall 1-room flats.

$5 note: my favorite- the Singapore River at Boat Quay; I could still vividly remember the stench of the river. It took a decade to clean up the river; a mega feat that also took away the river's soul.

$10 note: four major races; a united multi-racial society. If you look carefully, there's a map of Singapore behind the clasped hands. Do you know how many other notes have the map of Singapore in it's design?

$50 note: Clifford Pier, aka Red-light Pier. For seafarers, this is the Pearly Gates into Singapore and then sell some stuff at Change-Alley before heading to Bugis! I took my first ever ferry ride to Kusu island from this pier decades ago.

$100 note: this is the most uninteresting design of the Orchid notes: " a peaceful scene along the Singapore waterfront". The buildings on the right looked like the Old Supreme Court,Victoria Theatre and City Hall. The tall building on the left looked like Prima Flour. And the sailing boat. Is this "scene" historically relevant?

  

Inside cover of the folder, spelling out the specs of the notes.