Singapore's lunar series was launched in 1981 as the Monetary Authority moved to establish a recurring commemorative program tied to the Chinese calendar — a deliberate acknowledgment of the ethnic Chinese majority's cultural calendar. The 1986 Tiger is the sixth issue in that run. Mintage was tightly controlled relative to the broader commemorative market of the period, and nickel strikes were produced alongside a proof version in silver, making the base-metal circulation strike the more commonly encountered but often underappreciated of the two formats.
Singapore's lunar series was launched in 1981 as the Monetary Authority moved to establish a recurring commemorative program tied to the Chinese calendar — a deliberate acknowledgment of the ethnic Chinese majority's cultural calendar. The 1986 Tiger is the sixth issue in that run. Mintage was tightly controlled relative to the broader commemorative market of the period, and nickel strikes were produced alongside a proof version in silver, making the base-metal circulation strike the more commonly encountered but often underappreciated of the two formats.