Feng Shui Banknotes- Singapore Portrait Series

Banknotes contain messages. Some of these messages are visible to the eyes, some are hidden and some are invisible and can only be seen under ultra-violet light.

In the above $2 portrait series banknote, you can see clearly the hologram on the left and the digit 2 on the right.

"Singapore" in four official languages, and right on top of that, a row of micro lettering which you can only see if you have a strong magnifier.

Can you see the micro lettering?

For this first series of Portrait banknotes, it reads "BOARDOFCOMMISSIONERSOFCURRENCYSINGAPORE". 

Now can you tell me, how many times of the above, is repeated on the banknote? :-) Tell us on Facebook page.

In the above $5 banknote, what can you see in the hologram on the left? 

In the hologram, can you see a "$" logo and behind of that  can you see "BCCS:? And a digit 5 on the right? If you can, that's very good!

What about the big digit 5 on the right? 
Can you see the 'BCCS' micro lettering on the shadow of the digit? And some kind of motif on the face of the digit 5?

Next, the $10 banknote above. 

Now, if you look at the images of the $2, $5, $10 and $50 banknotes, the design theme is consistent: hologram on the left and digit of the value of the banknote on the right.

"BCCS" micro lettering can be found on the shadow of the digit and a different motif on the face of the digit for each note.

Take a closer look at the motifs. What are these motifs and what do they represent?

They look familiar? Seen them some where? 

These motifs are auspicious symbols! You could have seen them at the Forbidden City in Beijing, the museum, a Chinese temple or on TV.

The auspicious symbols found on the Singapore Portrait Series banknotes are represented as follows:

$  2 - Bats 蝙蝠, a symbol of happiness and joy, and the Chinese for bat sounds identical to the word for good fortune.

$  5 - Pomegranates 石榴, is symbol of prosperity and fertility in many cultures and religions.

$10 - Chinese Coin 铜钱, is a symbol of prosperity and wealth.

$50 - Peaches 寿桃, is a symbol of longevity and immortality. 

Don't you feel blessed just by carrying these notes? I really hope so :-)

But there is one more . . . what's the biggest and most obvious auspicious symbol on the portrait series banknotes???

It's the BA-GUA 八卦 (the Chinese Octagon), represented by the HOLOGRAM, used to harmonize the environment and create good fortune in Chinese geomancy!

Being reflective it actually works like a ba-gua mirror, used to reflect and divert negative qi (energy). 

So next time when you're feeling down and out, take out a wad of Portrait series banknotes and you should feel better. :-)))

To find out more about the auspicious creatures in the Ship Series, read here.

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Singapore Portrait Series- First Issue Printing Imperfections

One of the major security feature of the Portrait series is the addition of a hologram. The octagon-shaped hologram is applied to a guilloche on the left of the digit. 

From the first issue of the Portrait series banknotes, we can see the hologram is applied with a lot less precision. This is clearly demonstrated by the four $2 notes with running serial numbers: the hologram is applied within the guilloche but they are all off-centred at four different positions. 

This is especially prominent in the $2 notes but a lot less on the other notes. In fact, if you observe the latest $50 Tharman note, which is still in paper, the horogram is also off-centred.

The hologram when tilted, shows a multi-coloured image of the "$", "BCCS" and the number 2.

This is the $10 note with the serial number OJF912530- perfectly printed. But take a look at the next note.

This is the $10 note with the serial number OJF912531. Can you see the difference between this and the previous?

There is very obvious bleeding on the intaglio prints at four positions. This could be the most serious bleeding I've ever seen and I'm surprised quality control did not pick this up, for some known or unknown reasons. But surely and I'm assuming, quality control has been tighten in later batches and "imperfect" notes are rare.

If you observe closely, out of the three $10 notes in the money bag, the first note OJF912529 also has bleeding at the coat of arms and "SINGAPORE". Together with 531, that's 2 out of 3 imperfect notes. 

OAA 1st series $5 notes in running numbers: perfectly printed but hologram is off-centred.

Have you made similar observations in earlier notes or even recent notes that have this type of imperfections? Are these "imperfect" notes collectible since they're not major error notes? 

Tell us about your experience and share with us on our Facebook page.

The Singapore Currency: An Artistic Expression by LIYU

I was invited to attend the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts' (NAFA) BA Fine Art Degree exhibition because I spoke to one of the graduating student on Singapore's modern currency some moons ago. I thought he was doing some research to write a thesis. Never did I know he was creating ART. 

The following are two of his graduating artwork on display at NAFA's Lim Hak Thai Gallery.

 Happiness, Prosperity and Progress Series no. 1: "To Greater Heights"

The author uses digital collage from Singapore's four series of currency, including the $50 and $25 commemorative notes, to create his artwork. 

His artwork is intriguing and profound. It uses our currency as a strong expression of our economic progress and pursuit, that is becoming detrimental and weaker groups have fallen through the cracks especially when our social safety nets are weak.

The author "attempts to provoke a reflection on the value system of our society."

Birds seems to be the key focus here; catching its preys and flying them up into the air before letting them plunge to the ground. 

The higher you go, the harder you fall?

I think you'll probably know which banknote the skyline at the background comes from, but do you know where Victoria Concert Hall and the buildings with the brown roofs come from? I've no idea. Pls tell us on our Face Book page if you know the answer.

And I spotted a "strange image" at the centre of the artwork that is completely incoherent. Can you see it? Do you know what it means? Tell us on our Face Book page.

What's Chen Wenxi's monkey doing on the dome of the old Supreme Court Building? Banana tree? Where does that come from? :-)

Happiness, Prosperity and Progress Series no. 2: "In Celebration"

The focus here seems to be buildings and people. While most are celebrating some are drowning. So an artist is also a sociologist? Yes, very much one! Don't you agree?

Can you make out where all those buildings come from? And all those spectators cheering? It took me a while to find out but the red building on the right, I have no idea where it comes from. :-(

 MBS, the new Singapore skyline, the Science & Art Museum and the Singapore Flyer? I think I missed a lot here :-))) Can someone enlighten me?

All That is Solid

"Plant base jelly. Delightful in the first 8 hours, after that threshold, decay takes over, flies moves in to breed. Likewise, how solid is our economy?" (Excerpt taken from Liyu's web-page http://cargocollective.com/liyu/All-that-is-solid)

Philosophical. :-)

According to Erica Lai (BAFA Course Leader), "Liyu attempts to decipher the codes within the Singapore currency system through his experiments in ephemerality and magnifications  Like a tireless conspiracy theorist, Liyu has created a varied body of evidence that is utterly captivating."

I'm not an art critic so I'll leave it to you to decipher LIYU's message. And I hope LIYU can tell us more!

I hope you like his work. 

Please join me to congratulate LIYU and The New NINE, and wishing them best of endeavours! 

Singapore Portrait Series First Issue $100 Money-Bag

The first portrait series banknotes bearing the portrait of Encik Yusof bin Ishak, the first President of Singapore, was issued on 9 September 1999. 

Did you realize this series of banknotes has been in circulation for 14 years (up to 2013)? I suspect it will be replaced in 2015 when Singapore celebrates 50 years of independence (don't quote me, I'm just guessing).

People don't usually talk about a current series because it is still in circulation- you get to touch and feel it everyday, so there is nothing special about it. 

But in fact, the Yusof Ishak series has gone through substantial changes in the last 14 years. It has gone through four signature changes, starting from (1) Hu Tsu Tau, (2) Goh Chok Tong, (2) Lee Hsien Loong to (4) Tharman Shanmugaratnam. 

The banknotes bearing the signature of Hu Tsu Tau (HTT) were issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS). When BCCS was merged into MAS and MAS became the banknote issuing authority, the banknotes started to bear the signature of Goh Chok Tong, as Chairman of MAS.

The most important physical changes within these 14 years and probably even in the history of Singapore's currency has to be moving from paper to PLASTIC. 

Do you know which are the banknotes that are in plastic; when did they become plastic? 

For my younger audience, this is specially for you: the first issue of the portrait series (all paper), in a $100 money bag. 

Sealed in a polymer bag is a $100 worth of banknotes:

five $2, two $5, three $10 and one $50. 

OAA is the prefix of the serial number for the first print. Notes of the same value found in the bag are in running numbers (see first photo above).

The reverse of the money bag clearly indicates this money bag comes from POSB and it has a BCCS sticker marked $100.

All notes in paper, bearing the signature of HTT as Chairman of BCCS. Enhanced security features include: kinegram, asymmetrical serial numbers, and latent image. 

Q: What do you see in the kinegram? 

Back of the notes featuring a stardust security thread.

So how many money bags were exchanged to the public in 1999? Are these $100 money bags rare? Because I've never seen any of them around. Do you own one of this money bag and are they currently being sold as collectibles? 

If you know the answers to any of my questions, tell us on our Facebook page.

In my next post, I will be sharing with you some of the special features of the first issue I noted under high magnification. Surprise, surprise! Stay tuned.

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Singapore Bird Specimen Banknotes (Part 2)

The Singapore Bird series banknotes is like the second son, always a shadow of the eldest, always taken for granted, and always never taken seriously. The eldest son is always favored because he is the first child and always perceived to be the smartest and brightest.

But that's beginning to change.

The Bird Specimen Set that was auctioned off in March 2013 was hammered down for S$5,000; inclusive of 18% buyer's premium the set was paid for at S$5,900. Although all the notes in this set is PMG rated and cannot be compared to an unrated set, it still speaks volume of what's to come.

Based on available auction information, there were a total of 4 Bird Specimen sets sold from 2009 to 2011. None was available for auction in 2012; the PMG set was the first to be sold in 2013.


Mavin                 Lot         Album     Realized       Paid  
Auction               no.          no.           Price            (+18%)
29  Nov 2011      689          089          S$3,100        S$3,658
26  Mar 2011      753          293          S$1,750        S$2,065
24  July 2010      829          121          S$1,690        S$1,994
22  Nov 2009      638          Nil           S$   830        S$    979

Auction information is taken from Mavin International website.
The realized price and total price may not be accurate due to different forex rates and buyer's premium.

The trend is obvious and needs no further explanation.

For those who have sold out earlier because you've lost faith: you did what you need to do then, you may consider buying back now (pun intended).

For those who are still holding on, the day has finally come, it's time to cash out, you may consider selling to me :-))) (pun unintended).

The Singapore banknote series:
Orchid      1967 to 1976      (10yrs)
Bird          1976 to 1984      (9 yrs)
Ship          1984 to 1999      (16 yrs)
Portrait     1999 to present  (14 yrs; up to 2013)

The Singapore Specimen Sets (public sale):
Orchid LKS 5pc:   77 sets
Orchid HSS 5pc:   89 sets
Orchid HSS 6pc:   82 sets
Bird HSS 6pc    :   311 sets

Total Orchid sets:   248
Total Orchid & Bird sets:   559

 Front: Bird $100 note A/1 000000 overprinted with "SPECIMEN".

Back: Bird $100 note overprinted  with "SPECIMEN".

Singapore Commemorative $25 Banknote (MAS 25th Anniversary)

This Singapore Commemorative $25 banknote is issued in 1996 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). 

Is there any significance to this issue? 

Well of course, every issue is significant. Apart from the 300,000 notes issued for circulation and in commemorative packages:

1. It is the only SECOND commemorative banknote to be issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS). 
2. It is the only SECOND $25 after the Orchid $25. 
3. It is the only note that has NO prefix in the serial number.
4. It is the only note that packs the MOST security features, in all the notes issued so far.

It is a beautiful banknote, minus the MAS building. The banknote is covered with intricate graphics and micro-lettering. The octagon multi-coloured hologram is a precursor to the silver hologram found in the Portrait series that started circulation in 1999. 

Front design:  The multi-redundant hologram and serial number that has no prefix, i.e. numbers only.

 Back design: Featuring the skyline of the financial district.

The octagon multi-redundant hologram with the symbol of the Singapore Lion and the numerals 25.

 The front cover of the "Cheque Book" commemorative pack. It was issued at S$36/- in 1996.

 There are a total of 12 security features packed onto the front design of the note.

On the back design, there are 4 security features. But . . . . sometimes, less is more. You will be mesmerized by what you see under UV.

 The front-design, under ultra-violet light: the bottom serial number and the seal of the Chairman, printed in fluorescent ink,  glow in orange colour.

The back-design under UV, glows like fire-works, never seen in any of the series ever produced. There are two "25" glowing next to the printed "25", and "1Jan96" at the right-hand corner, are invisible features that are visible only under UV.

So are you impressed? 

Yes, I am, from a technical point of view, it is an important production that has many significant features that are unique and not available in other series. 

No, I'm not, from a quantity point of view, the numbers are too large, simply because Singapore is too small! I'm not sure how many of the 300,000 notes were issued, but based on the fact that the commemorative packs are still being auctioned quarterly, it is definitely not scarce.

But in view of Singapore's population growing to 6.9 million by 2030, my advice: BUY NOW! EVERYTHING!

Of course, I'm just kidding. Bad pun intended. :-)

May I wish all readers who are celebrating the Lunar New Year, a Snaking Good Year ahead! 

恭喜！恭喜！富贵，平安。