3 Dollars - Hassanal Bolkiah ASEAN

Brunei joined ASEAN as a founding member in 1984, just days after independence from Britain, making regional identity a politically charged subject for the young sultanate. This 1997 issue marks the association's 30th anniversary — the same year ASEAN expanded to include Laos and Myanmar, and the same year the Asian financial crisis began dismantling the currencies of several member states. Brunei's dollar, backed by Singapore dollar parity and substantial oil reserves, weathered that crisis without devaluation, an outcome most neighboring issuers could not claim.