10 Ringgits / Dollars - Hassanal Bolkiah Independence

Brunei's 1984 independence from Britain — after nearly a century as a protectorate — was marked with considerable ambivalence in London, where the arrangement had long suited both parties. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's government issued commemorative coinage at intervals following independence, this 1994 piece marking the tenth anniversary. Brunei remains one of the few nations never to have held a general election since achieving sovereignty, a political reality the currency's imagery quietly sidesteps.