Malayan dollar

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The front of a 1 Malayan dollar note, 1941.
The front of a 1 Malayan dollar note, 1941.
The rear of a 1 Malayan dollar note, 1941.
The rear of a 1 Malayan dollar note, 1941.

The Malayan dollar 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).

Contents

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, 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.

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

1, 5 and 10 dollars notes were printed in the U.K. for circulation in Malaya in 1940. However, because a shipload of 1 and 5 dollars 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.

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.

  • Albert Pick (1996). in Neil Shafer, George S. Cuhaj, Colin R. Bruce II (editors): Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues to 1960, 8th ed., Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-469-1. 
  • (2003) in Chester L. Krause, Cliffor Mischler, Colin R. Bruce II, et al. (editors): 2004 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901-present, 31st ed., Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-593-4. 

Pre-WWII
Preceded by:
Straits dollar
Ratio: at par, or 60 dollars = 7 British pounds
Currency of Straits Settlements, Brunei
19391942
Succeeded by:
Japanese occupation Malayan dollar
Location: present day Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei
Reason: Japanese occupation
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 occupation Malayan 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 1945March 31, 1946
Currency of Malaya, Singapore
19461953
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
19451953


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