Money (Not That Old)

I was asked in my other blog about money and stamps whether I have the old Malaya Borneo $1 and $10 notes. Yes I do. These two were issued in 1959 and 1961 respectively. I am only showing the $1 note.

The Board of Commissioners of Currency for Malaya and British Borneo issued currency notes and coins for Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak. In fact, if you look closely at the back of the note you can see one of the crests is the Brunei crest.

This note was used from 1959 to 1967. It was printed by two different companies Thomas De La Rue and Waterlow and Sons. The note printed by Waterlow and Sons is harder to find. When this note was issued in 1959, it became the first note to replace the Queen $1 note which was issued in 1953. It marked the first attempt by the 'new countries' to separate themselves from the British and come up with their own design. That's why the design was of a boat which at that point in time was widely used by all the fishermen on both sides of the South China Sea.

In 1967, the three countries agreed to issue their own currencies. And this $1 note was abandoned. It circulated for a while even after every country issued their own notes but when the British devalued the pounds in November 1967, the value of this note also fell as it was tied to the British pounds. It can still be used at the lower value but by January 1969, it ceased to be legal tender. From 1967 to 1969, many people exchanged this note for the new notes issued by the governments.

The few that are available now are those which were not returned. However it is not that expensive. You can still buy this from the market for around $10 to $15.