Malayan dollar Information & Malayan dollar Links at HealthHaven.com

The front of a 1 Malayan dollar note, 1941.

The dollar (Malay: ringgit, Jawi: ريڠڬيت) was the currency of the British colonies and protectorates in Malaya and Brunei until 1953. It was introduced in 1939, replacing the Straits dollar at par, with 1 dollar = two shillings four pence sterling (60 dollars = 7 pounds).

[edit] History

The Malayan dollar was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya, with a hiatus during the Japanese occupation (1942–1945). During this period, Japanese occupation paper money was issued in denominations in cents and dollars. This currency was fixed at 1 dollar = 1 Japanese yen, compared to a 1:2 pre-war rate. Following the war, the Japanese occupation currency was declared worthless and the previous issues of the Malayan dollar regained their value relative to sterling.

In 1952 the board was renamed the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo. The Board began issuing banknotes in 1953. See Malaya and British Borneo dollar.

[edit] Coins

Coins were issued between 1939 and 1950 in denominations of ½ and 1 cent (square, bronze), 5, 10 and 20 cents (silver until 1945, cupro-nickel from 1948).

[edit] Banknotes

1, 5 and 10 dollar notes were printed in the U.K. for circulation in Malaya in 1940. However, because a shipload of 1 and 5 dollar notes were captured by German forces, only the 10 dollars were issued. Because of the war in Europe, the Survey Department printed 10 and 25 cents for circulation. These were replaced in 1941 by notes printed by Thomas de la Rue in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents.

During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese government issued notes for 1, 5, 10 and 50 cents, 1, 5 and 10 dollars in 1942, followed by 100 dollars in 1944 and 1000 dollars in 1945. This currency was known colloquially as Banana money, a reference to the bananas shown on the $10 bill, and possibly also a scornful reference to Banana republics.

After the British regained control of Malaya, notes were issued in 1945 (dated 1941), in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 1000 and 10,000 dollars.

Cent Note
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of issue	Printed
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue	Printed
		1 cents	purple/orange	King George VI	blank	1941	Thomas De La Rue
		5 cents	red/green		blank	1941	Thomas De La Rue
		10 cents	dark blue/pink/brown		blank	1940	Survey Department, Federated Malay States
		10 cents	Blue/pink		blank	1941	Thomas De La Rue
		20 cents	brown/orange		Coat of arms of the Federated Malay States (left), the Straits Settlements (centre top), and the Unfederated Malay States and Brunei (right).	1940	Thomas De La Rue
		25 cents	green/orange			1941	Survey Department, Federated Malay States
		50 cents	purple/orange			1941	Thomas De La Rue

Malayan Dollar
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue
		$1	green	King George VI	Coat of arms of the Federated Malay States (left), the Straits Settlements (centre top), and the Unfederated Malay States and Brunei (right).	1940
		$1	Blue			1941
		$5	blue			1940
		$5	Green/yellow			1941
		$10	purple			1940
		$10	Red			1941
		$50	Blue/mauve			1941
		$100	red/green			1941
		$1000	blue/purple			1941
		$10000	green/light brown			1941

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Pick, Albert (1996). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues to 1960. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (8th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-469-1.
Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (2003). 2004 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901–Present. Colin R. Bruce II (senior editor) (31st ed. ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873495934.

[edit] External links

Pre-WWII
Preceded by: Straits dollar Ratio: at par, or 60 dollars = 7 British pounds	Currency of Straits Settlements, Brunei 1939 – 1942	Succeeded by: Japanese government-issued dollar Location: present day Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Ratio: at par Note: The Japanese allowed the Malayan dollar to circulate. But they were in practice hoarded as a more reliable store of value.

Post-WWII
Preceded by: Japanese government-issued dollar Location: present day Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Reason: Japan lost World War II Ratio: The occupation currency became worthless. The value of the pre-occupation currency was restored.	Currency of Straits Settlements September 1945 – March 31, 1946	Currency of Malaya, Singapore 1946 – 1953	Succeeded by: Malaya and British Borneo dollar Reason: creation of a common Board of Commissioners of Currency Ratio: at par, or 60 dollars = 7 British pounds
	Currency of Brunei 1945 – 1953