· Process

. Forum

· Asian Money Fair

· Portrait

. Ship

. Bird

. Orchid

. Banana

. Strait Settlement

· Coins

· Counterfeit

· Laws

· Acknowledgements

In 1826, the three settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore were amalgamated to form the Straits Settlements. At this time, the only mode of currency was the Spanish Dollar, Dutch doits or the Singapore Merchant tokens which were fully established as the local medium of exchange.

The Supreme Government of India reconsidered the matter and in 1845, issued a special coinage based on the fractions of a dollar, namely the cent, half-cent and quarter cent in copper. The dies were prepared at the Royal Mint, London, by Mr. William Wyon and struck at the Calcutta mint bearing the inscription “East India Company”.

In 1858, the British Government took over the Straits Settlements and it come under the control of the Government of British India. In 1862, a new issue of the one cent, half-cent and quarter-cent was issued for use in the Straits Settlements bearing the inscription “India Straits”.

1867 saw the Straits Settlements being transferred from the Indian Government to the Imperial Government at London and on the 1^st April 1867, they became a Crown Colony. The first coinage bearing the inscription “Straits Settlements” was issued in 1871 and the last issue with this inscription ended in 1935.

In 1945, the Crown Colony was dissolved and Singapore remained a separate CROWN Colony whilst the State of Penang and Malacca joined the Malayan Union and later became part of the Federation of Malaya in 1948.

The Government of the Straits Settlements was first authorized to issue currency notes by Ordinance VIII of 1897. Both the Chartered Bank and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank continued to issue banknotes, which circulated side by side with the official currency. All notes were freely convertible into Mexican dollars or the various other silver coins that were legal tender in the Colony.

All Straits Settlements notes have the legend “The Government of the Straits Settlements promises to pay the bearer on demand at Singapore. Local Currency for value receive”, and bear the National crest. Singapore was capital of Straits Settlement.

The coinage of the Straits Settlements consists of the following three reigns:

1. Queen Victoria    à 1837—1901
2. King Edward VII à 1901—1910
3. King George V    à 1910--1936