Brief History on Singapore Currency

In 1965 Singapore attained political independence from Malaysia. The currency union which had been operating for 29 years came to an end on 12 June 1967. Now the three participating countries, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei each issued its own currency. By the newly established Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS) under the Currency Act of 1967, Singapore issued its own currency. However, to uphold some level of currency cooperation, the three countries decided on the Currency Interchangeability Agreement of 1967. This allowed the new Bruneian, Malaysian and Singapore Dollars to be used as customary tender in all three countries. The currencies of the 3 countries were henceforth interchangeable at par value.

The Malaysian government decided to terminate the agreement on 8 May 1973, however Brunei and Singapore continued with the Agreement until the present day. On October 1, 2002 the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore, was dissolved and its functions, property and liabilities have been transferred to the MAS Currency Department.

The very first of the Singapore coins dollars known as the "orchids", were minted in 1967. They had images of orchid on their fronts and were in nine different denominations, ranging from 1 cent Singapore to one thousand dollars. In 1976, Singapore old coins were withdrawn from circulation only to be replaced by what came to be popularly known as the "bird". This was again replaced in 1984 by the ship series. The currency used in Singapore till date has been unchangeable since 1999. It features portraits of important personalities in the history of the country.

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