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 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.

Want-to-Buy (WTB): Singapore Orchid & Bird Specimen Banknotes Set in Folder

I'm buying Orchid and Bird Specimen sets:
Orchid 5 & 6 notes set.
Bird 6 notes set.

In original folder; notes must be in mint UNC condition.
Email me your reasonable offer to: russellcheong at gmail dot com
Thank you.

Singapore Bird Specimen Banknotes

The Bird series banknotes is circulated from 1976 to 1984 over a period of nine (9) years. Banknotes in this series were signed by Mr Hon Sui Sen, Minister for Finance from 1970 to 1983.

This Bird Series Specimen set is released together with the Orchid Specimen sets at the Singapore International Coin Convention, in 1988 & 1989 (TBC). 

A total of 311 sets were issued.

There are six (6) notes in this specimen set: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 & $1.

For this set of Bird specimen notes, the prefix of the serial number for each denomination is a "S" except for the $5 note which is a "A/1".

Except for the $5 note, all other notes are punched at three spots:
1. Left-hand top corner- dollar denomination
2. Centre- Signature of the Minister for Finance
3. Right- Water-mark

This is a beautiful set of banknotes that captured the changing events and landscapes of Singapore.

The Singapore skyline at the bottom of every note in this series; the map of Singapore in the $50 & $10 note; Changi Airport Terminal 1 and the Concorde jet in the $20 note; the cable car tower and Keppel harbour in the $5 note: they have all been transformed or become non-existent over the tides of time.

For those who walked through the early years of nation building, only you can relate to those events and landscapes, and recall beautiful memories of bygone years that were fortunate enough to be captured permanently and presented in these banknotes.

Singapore Orchid Specimen Banknotes

The Orchid series is the first series of banknotes of modern Singapore. It was issued in 1967 after Singapore’s independence in 1965.

The economy of Singapore in the early years after its independence was relatively small and as such this first series of banknotes were printed in very small quantity and over a period of 9 years. The Orchid notes were subsequently replaced by the Bird series in 1976.

The Orchid notes bear the signatory of three of our founding fathers who held the post of finance ministers: Mr. Lim Kim San, Dr. Goh Keng Swee and Mr. Hon Sui Sen.

Besides the historical importance of the Orchid series as the first series of banknotes, what’s most notable in the Orchid series was the absent of the seal of the finance minister during Mr. Lim’s tenure and the initial tenure of Mr. Hon. These were the only two periods in the history of Singapore that banknotes did not bear the seal of the finance minister (or Chairman of the BCCS in later years).

Date of Issues:

12 June 1967 
Mr Lim Kim San – Signatory Only, No seal.
19 January 1970 
Dr. Goh Keng Swee- Signatory & Seal
15 January 1971 
Mr Hon Sui Sen- Signatory only, No Seal.
1 July 1972 
Mr Hon Sui Sen- Signatory & Seal.

Looking at the above periods, banknotes produced under Dr. Goh's tenure is the rarest (1 year only), followed by Mr. Hon's signatory-only from January 1971 to July 1972 (1.5 years only).

If Orchid notes are rare by today’s standard, what about Specimen Notes, . . . ORCHID SPECIMEN NOTES?!

Specimen notes are printed for the central or note issuing bank and the printer, to be kept as samples. 

Specimen notes are the “originals” of the entire series. It is used as an important reference for modification of the current series or as a basis of inspiration for future designs. Due to its importance, specimen notes are the foundation of national archives.

For this purpose, specimen notes are produced in very limited quantity and seldom released to the public. The serial numbers usually come with very low prefix and unique numbers e.g. A/1 000000, A/1 000001 to A/1 000010 and S 000XXX.

The word SPECIMEN is printed in black and red or punched on the note.

In 1989, the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS), issued THREE unique sets of the Orchid and ONE unique set of the Bird Series Specimen Notes to the public.

Orchid 5-Note Set, signed by Mr Lim Kim San (w/o seal) 77 Albums
Orchid 5-Note Set, signed by Mr. Hon Sui Sen (w/o seal) 89 Albums
Orchid 6-Note Set, signed by Mr. Hon Sui Sen (w seal)    82 Albums
Bird     6-Note Set, signed by Mr. Hon Sui Sen (w seal)   311 Albums

IMHO, this is the few remaining modern holy grail of Singapore banknotes collection.

Below are photographs of the Orchid 5-note Specimen Set
$100, $50, $10, $5, $1
Signed by Mr. Lim Kim San (signatory-only w/o seal)
All notes bear the serial no. A/1 00000
Uncirculated mint condition
Presented in special folder
Folder serial no. 012
Limited to 77 sets only

This is an extremely rare collector’s item. I’ve been keeping this for the last 19 years! Museum quality standard.

Singapore's banknote series:
Orchid  Series 1967 to 1976 (10 years)
Bird      Series 1976 to 1984 ( 9 years)
Ship      Series 1984 to 1999 (16 years)
Portrait Series 1999 to present

All discontinued Singapore’s banknotes remain to be legal tender.