This is the story of the money used from pre-colonial times to the
present day on the island we know as Singapore. This signature book
describes the multiplicity of currencies that have been used in and
around the island over the centuries, and how these culminate in the
Singapore dollar today. The authors trace the impact, sometimes
dramatic, of political and economic events and technological forces
shaping these currencies. Singapore has followed its own development
path, from the days when, in the first few decades of the colonial
settlement, local merchants resisted currency reforms imposed on the
island by the East India Company. Greater monetary autonomy was achieved
in the second half of the 19th century when Singapore became a Crown
colony in its own right. The drive towards self-representation
culminated in full internal self-government in 1959, independence from
British colonial rule in 1963 as part of the Federation of Malaysia, and
the status of a sovereign nation in 1965. The introduction of
Singapore's own currency in 1967 was a national milestone. In 1971,
Singapore established the Monetary Authority of Singapore with the
sovereign power to undertake monetary policy as it deemed most
appropriate. Money has evolved from coins minted from precious metals to
those struck from baser metals, to notes issued first by commercial
banks and later by governments. The journey from commodity-based money
to a purely fiat money has unfolded in parallel. The use of money in its
electronic and more 'weightless' forms has also become increasingly
common. The powerful effects this trend will have on the nature of money
and banking are still unfolding. All these issues, and more, are
examined in this book, published to mark the 50th anniversary of the
founding of Singapore's central bank, the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS), in January 1971.
