2016-05-31 Tue

69 year old coin enthusiast, Jang, reached the Bank Negara Malaysia’s Penang branch in Light Street, George Town, at 9pm and waited for 12 hours to be among the first ones to receive the special commemorative coin issued by the bank to mark the 50th anniversary of Yayasan Sabah. Only 12 pieces of the Coloured Silver Commemorative Coin (proof) was available at the branch, which is why waiting overnight in the rains under the bus stop was a good idea for him. Apart from this coin, he also bought five pieces of the Nordic Gold Brilliant Uncirculated Commemorative Coin. Some coin collectors had come down at 6pm or 7pm, the evening before the coins were given out by the bank.

The face value of the Coloured Silver Commemorative Coin is RM10 and is sold at RM212 a piece. The mintage is limited to 500 pieces. The Nordic Gold coin has a face value of RM1 and will be sold at RM10.60 each. The mintage is limited to 10,000 pieces. A total of 2,000 sets of two are also available for sale, each priced at RM265.

The obverse features the surroundings of Menara Tun Mustapha, also known as the Sabah Foundation Tower. Other inscriptions include ‘Ulang Tahun Ke-50’, ‘1966-2016’ and ‘Yayasan Sabah’. The reverse features “Bank Negara Malaysia’, the face value of the coin and the official logo of Yayasan Sabah.

Yayasan Sabah was founded by Tun Datu Haji Mustapha Datu Harun on 10th May, 1966 which works towards improving the socio-economic conditions of all Malaysians in the rural areas of Subah by initiating educational and economic development programmes.