10 Dollars Year of the Ox

Singapore's Lunar New Year commemorative series was administered by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, a body established at independence in 1967 to manage the transition away from the shared Malaya and British Borneo dollar. The 1985 Ox issue arrived during a year of particular economic significance — Singapore was approaching its first recession since independence, with GDP contracting sharply in 1985 for reasons rooted in construction overcapacity and a collapse in electronics export demand.

Copper-nickel strikes of this type saw considerably wider distribution than their silver and gold counterparts, placing them firmly in the gift and collector market rather than any ceremonial reserve context.