New $20 note launched to commemorate Singapore's Bicentennial
SINGAPORE — A new $20 currency note was launched on Wednesday (5 June) by President Halimah Yacob to commemorate Singapore’s Bicentennial.
The note, issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), depicts Singapore’s journey to nationhood and pays tribute to our forebears who laid the foundations for modern Singapore.
Two million pieces of the commemorative note will be available for public exchange at face value at branches of nine major retail banks in Singapore from 10 June onwards.
The banks are: DBS Bank/POSB, OCBC, UOB, Bank of China, Citibank Singapore, ICBC, Maybank, Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC.
Each note comes with a specially-designed folder. To allow everyone to have an opportunity to exchange for the commemorative note, each individual is allowed to exchange up to 20 pieces of the note per transaction.
Design of new note
The $20 commemorative note was designed by local artists Eng Siak Loy and Weng Ziyan. The front of the note features a portrait of Yusof Ishak, Singapore’s first president, alongside the former Supreme Court and City Hall, which are now the National Gallery Singapore.
The back of the note showcases eight pioneers against a backdrop of the old Singapore River. These individuals had arrived from different lands and made significant contributions to nation building, in diverse areas such as education, culture, defence, community service and sports.
The eight pioneers are: Munshi Abdullah, Henry Nicholas Ridley, Tan Kah Kee, P Govindasamy Pillai, Teresa Hsu, Alice Pennefather, Adnan Saidi and Ruth Wong.
Limited-edition sets, gallery of rare notes
There will be 5,000 limited-edition numismatic sets of the $20 notes available for sale. Each set comprises an uncut sheet of three $20 commemorative notes.
Pre-orders can be placed with The Singapore Mint from Wednesday to 13 June. The sets will be allocated by balloting if they are oversubscribed, and will be available for collection from 20 June.
In conjunction with the Bicentennial, the MAS Gallery will be exhibiting for the first time a rare collection of currency notes and coins that trace the development of Singapore’s currency over the past 200 years.
The gallery is located in the MAS Building and is open to public from Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 5.30pm. Admission is free.
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