Straits dollars
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The Straits Dollar was the currency of the Straits Settlements from 1898 to 1939. It was also used in the Federated Malay States , Unfederated Malay States , Sarawak , Brunei, and British Northern Borneo during the same period . The dollar was divided into 100 cents, the $ symbol served as a symbol .
history
During the early 19th century, the Spanish dollar was the most common currency in East and Southeast Asia. In addition to the silver coins of Spain and its colonies, or their successor states, there were also local coin issues such as the Kelantan - and the Trengganu-Keping , as well as the Penang dollar .
In 1837 the Indian rupee became the only official currency in the Straits Settlements, as it was administered as part of British India at the time . Even so, the Spanish dollar remained in circulation and in 1845 coins were issued for the Straits Settlements at 100 cents = 1 dollar, which were equivalent to the Spanish dollar or Mexican peso . In 1867, the Straits Settlements were administratively separated from India and the dollar became the most common currency.
Starting in 1898, the Straits dollar was issued by a newly established institution, the Board of Commissioners of Currency , and the issuance of banknotes by private banks was prohibited. The external value of the dollar fell steadily over the next eight years, until in 1906 it was pegged to the pound sterling at a fixed exchange rate of two shillings and four pence .
The Straits dollar was replaced by the Malaya dollar in 1939 .
Brunei and Singapore still use a successor to this dollar today , while Malaysia left the monetary union in 1973 .
Coins
The first coins of the Straits Settlements of 1845 were values of ¼, ½ and 1 cent made of copper . They were issued by the East India Company and had no country information. A second edition followed in 1862, initiated by the British Indian government. These coins were inscribed India - Straits .
In 1871 silver coins for the Straits Settlements were issued in denominations of 5, 10 and 20 cents, followed the next year by values of ¼, ½ and 1 cent made of copper and a silver 50 cent coin in 1886. The first silver dollars were made in 1903 embossed.
A three-page special edition of the Straits Settlements Gazette , published in Singapore on August 24, 1904, contained the following proclamation by Governor Sir John Anderson: From August 31, 1904, British, Mexican and Hong Kong Dollars would cease to be legal tender and would be replaced by the newly introduced Straits Settlements Dollar. [As of August 31, 1904, British, Mexican and Hong Kong dollars are no longer legal tender and will be replaced by the newly introduced Straits Settlements dollar.]
The purpose of this move was to create a separate exchange rate for the new Straits dollar to the other silver currencies circulating in the region, most notably the British trade dollar . If the value of the Straits dollar deviated significantly from that of the other silver dollars, the monetary authority could peg it to the pound sterling and thus to the gold standard . This was done when the Straits dollar reached the equivalent of two shillings and four pence.
However, within a few years the value of silver rose so that the metal value of the dollar became higher than its face value. In order to prevent the silver coins from being melted down, smaller coins with a reduced fineness were issued in 1907 . The last ¼ cent coins were issued in 1916. Dollar coins were last put into circulation in 1926, while the production of silver 50-cent coins ended in 1921. The remaining coins remained in production until 1935.
Banknotes
Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
The Straits Settlements government approved the issuance of banknotes under Ordinance VIII of 1897, which came into effect on August 31, 1898. The Board of Commissioners of Currency issued $ 5 and $ 10 banknotes in 1899; These notes are dated September 1, 1898, but were not issued until May 1, 1899. The Standard Chartered Bank and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank still spent their own banknotes, which circulated alongside the bills of the government. All notes were freely convertible to the Mexican silver dollar or the various other silver trading coins that circulated in the colony.
King Edward VII (1901-1910)
Edward VII ascended the throne in January 1901. In the previous issue, the $ 5 bill was almost the same size and design as the $ 10 bill. In order to improve the distinction, the 5 dollar bill has been reduced in size. The new banknote series dates from February 1, 1901 and was made by Thomas de la Rue & Co. Ltd. printed in London . This series also included higher denominations of $ 50 and $ 100 for the first time.
When the silver value of the 1 dollar coin introduced in 1903 exceeded the face value, a smaller dollar coin was introduced first and finally a 1 dollar note in 1906. This dollar note, dated September 1, 1906 and printed by De La Rue, became very popular so the need for silver 1 dollar coins decreased.
By late 1906, the currency in circulation of notes and coins issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency had risen to $ 21,866,142, while the circulation of banknotes from private banks had fallen to $ 1,329,052. New $ 5 and $ 10 bills, both dated June 8, 1909, were printed by De La Rue and issued that same year.
King George V (1910–1936)
During the reign of the monarch, the maximum value of the banknote series was raised to $ 1,000, mainly for transactions between banks. Emergency spending of 10 and 25 cents became necessary as a result of metal shortages between 1917 and 1920. In 1915 the design of the notes was completely changed to 50, 100 and 1000 dollars. The new notes were printed again at De La Rue and came into circulation in February 1920, October 1919 and May 1917, respectively. A $ 10,000 note was issued in October 1922, although it was not intended for the public and was used solely for interbank transactions.
King George VI. (1936–1952)
In September 1933, Sir Basil Phillott Blackett was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies . He headed a commission investigating the possibility of Malay states, including Brunei , participating in the Straits Settlements currency. The Blackett Report recommended that a Pan-Malay Monetary Commission should be set up as a joint issuing authority. This recommendation was positively received by the governments of the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States , the Unfederated Malay States and Brunei. The necessary legislative procedures were initiated in 1938 and ratified by the participating states in 1939 , making the Malayan dollar legal tender.
literature
- Rupert Emerson, 1964, Malaysia A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule, Macmillan Company
- William Shaw, 1971, Paper Currency of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (1849–1970), Museum Department of States of Malaya
Web links
- Straits dollars on Numispedia
- Currency of the Straits Settlements 1865-1921 from: Malaysia Numismatic Society Bulletin, Volume 15, No. 10, October 1983.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Owen Linzmayer: Straits Settlements . In: The Banknote Book . www.BanknoteNews.com, San Francisco, CA 2013.
- ↑ 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya, p. 138