Catalog
10 Cents
| Issuer | Government of the Straits Settlements |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917-1920 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND AT SINGAPORE TEN CENTS LOCAL CURRENCY FOR VALUE RECEIVED |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in red, the reverse centres on a stamp-style octagonal vignette bearing a Royal Crown, enclosed within a decorative cartouche inscribed "SINGAPORE 10¢" above and "TEN CENTS" below, with a two-digit date numeral at either side. Ornate floral scrollwork fills each corner of the otherwise plain field. |
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| Comments |
The Straits Settlements government issued these small-denomination paper notes as an emergency response to the severe coin shortage caused by wartime metal demands. Silver subsidiary coinage had been hoarded or melted, and the fractional currency series — of which this 10 Cents is part — was the colonial administration's stopgap.
Pick 6 spans the 1917–1920 issue window, and specimens dated across that range turn up with varying printer's runs and signature combinations corresponding to different Colonial Treasurers. The series was never intended for permanence; once coin supplies normalized post-war, these notes were withdrawn and largely destroyed, which accounts for the genuine scarcity of circulated survivors in any consistent grade.