10 Dollars 10th Anniversary of Independence

Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965 was involuntary — the federation expelled the island rather than the reverse, leaving Lee Kuan Yew famously in tears at the press conference announcing the separation. A decade later, with the city-state having defied every prediction of economic collapse, the Monetary Authority commissioned this issue to mark what had become an unexpectedly credible anniversary. The .500 fine silver composition was a deliberate economy; Singapore's finance ministry was not in the habit of sentiment outpacing pragmatism.