Singapore Portrait Series currency notes
The Portrait Series was first released by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS) on 9 September 1999 to welcome the new millennium,[1] designed by local artist Eng Siak Loy.
[3] On 2 July 2014, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that it would stop printing S$10,000 notes starting from 1 October 2014, to reduce the risk of money laundering.
The two most prominent security features are the engraved portrait of Yusof bin Ishak (which contains fine lines that are difficult for counterfeiters to mimic) and the Kinegram (a printed security hologram); MAS states that banknotes with missing or mutilated portrait or/and Kinegram command no value.
Other security features include lithographic print (the resulting background hinders camera counterfeiting), anti-copying line structures, perfect registration, microprinting, asymmetrical serial numbers and windowed security threads (thin ribbons woven into the paper).
[7] The banknote's obverse features the portrait of the first president of Singapore, Yusof bin Ishak, and the reverse contain secondary themes that are linked to his life.
[8] The background on the obverse of the Portrait Series feature a different cowrie (sea snail whose shell was often used as currency) for each denomination.
[12] Yusof was a keen-gardener who once made a living growing Orchids in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur before his appointment as president.
Its reverse carries the theme of sports and features sportsmen playing badminton, soccer, sailing, jogging and swimming.
Yusof was an active sportsman in his secondary school days, and won the national boxing title and the lightweight weightlifting championship.
[17][18] Cheong Soo Pieng (creator of Drying Salted Fish) and Chen Wen Hsi (creator of Gibbons Fetching the Moon from the Water) are two artists who created a new type of fine arts in Singapore that influenced other local artists, in which their two paintings are featured.
Its reverse carries the theme of youth and features a National Service officer with his ceremonial sword standing against the tower of the SAFTI Military Institute, uniformed youths representing Singapore Red Cross, St John's Ambulance Brigade, Singapore Scout Association and the National Police Cadet Corps.
5,000 sets of $50 banknotes signed by PM Lee Hsien Loong have been stamped with overprint commemorating the merger of the BCCS and MAS.
[18] On 27 June 2007, the governments of Singapore and Brunei celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement (an agreement allowing citizens of both countries to use currency from either nation interchangeably) by issuing commemorative $20 notes,[26] that are yellow, 149 × 72 mm in size, and made of polymer.
[27] A limited edition set was offered for sale, which consisted of both versions in a folder, with matching serial numbers.
