2017-12-28 Thu

If anyone has a collection of old coins, then they should preserve them as they could bring them thousands of ringgit. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of Malaysian coins and banknotes collectors, as with the demand for the monies.

Dickson Niew, a numismatist, who specialises in rare coins and banknotes, noted that there are now many Facebook groups and blogs on Malaysian banknotes and coins. Investors are looking to reap profits from their collection. Even youngsters are interested in this hobby now as the returns are good.

Certain banknotes and coins are worth a lot more than the actual face value of the monies. For instance, the face value of the limited edition commemorative banknotes produced by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary of the Signing of the Federation of Malaya Independence Agreement is RM60.

Although, the single RM60 banknote has a face value of RM60, but BNM has sold it at RM120 a piece.

Some monies are just more valuable from the rest. To differentiate them from the normal ones, there are few factors like...

1. The mintage: When the quantity issued is small, the value of the monies is high. For example, the 1 sen copper coin made in 1987 is valued in the thousands because it is believed that there are only about 100 pieces of them in the market.

2. The condition: The condition of monies such as whether they are worn or have defects in colour, will determine their values. When monies have higher grades their value increases as well.

3. The serial number printed on banknotes: In general, banknotes with solid notes are valued higher. Back in 2015, someone went to a Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) auction and paid RM76,000 just for an RM100 banknote bearing the serial number AA8888888.

In the end, these factors point to one single thing: rarity.

Take for example, the 1999 RM1 banknotes that were wrongly printed with former Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman’s signature and were circulated in a small amount by mistake.

The rare RM1 banknotes are being filtered by collectors as they are willing to fork out up to RM2,000 to get their hands on the one that is in superb condition, with the ‘CR’ prefix in the serial number.

In case you haven't heard, RM2 notes are currently up for sale with prices ranging from RM10 to RM50,000: