We have become so accustomed to cash exchanges in our daily grind that we no longer pay our dollar bills a second look. The next time you fish out the green five-dollar bill from your wallet, do spare a few seconds to examine it. While the front design features the first President of Singapore Encik Yusof bin Ishak as do all bills from the Portrait series, the back design theme is Garden City with a Tembusu tree of a long outstretched low-lying branch.
This is our 5-Dollar Tembusu tree. It is not just a default artist’s illustration. As a matter of fact it is a feature of Singapore’s most famous Tembusu tree. Located near the Tanglin entrance of the Botanic Gardens, it is believed to have existed long before the gardens was officially laid out in 1859. That puts the tree at close to two centuries old!
With its low lying branch to sit on and boundless green backdrop, this old Tembusu has long been a popular site for family portraits and outdoor wedding photo shoots. The tree has been inducted into the Heritage Trees of Singapore, which was launched in 2001 to identify and safeguard mature trees that serve as important green landmarks in our natural heritage.
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"Tembusu Heritage Tree" of Singapore
The "Tembusu Heritage Tree" is not an ordinary Tembusu tree. It is our Singapore heritage tree at Botanic Gardens!
A Tembusu graces Singapore currency as well.
The $5 note features a Tembusu of Heritage Tree status growing in the Botanic Gardens
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Picture of the Tembusu tree on the Singapore $5 dollar note
Coming back to the Tembusu trees, you are probably carrying a picture of a famous Tembusu in your pocket.
This tree in the Botanic Gardens is featured on the back of the $5 note.
The front of this $5 note has a picture of President Yusof bin Ishak.
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5 interesting facts about Singapore dollar notes that you probably didn’t know
The $5 note tree still stands
The tree on the $5 note is not some legendary tree as you might think, and since it’s already SG50 this year, the tree is probably somewhere rotting or non-existing anymore today. You are wrong.
The tree, known as the Tembusu tree, is still standing tall in the Botanic Gardens and have been featured previously in 2002 in one of the 4 heritage-tree stamps that was issued.
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The artist of the $50 note
Take a $50 bill and look at the back of it.
Do you see a pair of gibbons swinging through vines?
Most Singaporeans will have missed the painting by the late Chen Wen Hsi, one of Singapore's pioneer artists.
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The Tanglin Halt flats & a 1-dollar note
The Tanglin Halt flats
A 1-dollar note
Iconic landmarks in Singapore have been commonly used as the back designs of the former and current Singapore currency notes. Examples are the Supreme Court Building, Clifford Pier, Victoria Theatre, The Istana, Benjamin Sheares Bridges and Changi Airport, which have all been used as motifs in the previous Orchid, Bird and Ship series.
The dollar notes’ motif designs sometimes also tell a Singapore’s history. For instance, the back of the Orchid Series’ 1-dollar note, released in mid-1967, features the Tanglin Halt flats, which were built in 1962.
Fondly known as chup lau chu (“10-storey building” in Hokkien), these early HDB flats had existed for more than 50 years but eventually could not stand the test of time. Most of its tenants had moved out since 2008, and the vacant blocks will be demolished by end of 2015.
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BEAUTIFUL BANKNOTES
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The changing face of the Singapore Dollar
A $10 Malaya and British Borneo banknote issued in 1961. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY
Following years of searching, avid banknote collector Patrick Loh finally got his hands on what he described as one of his most prized possessions: A $10 dollar note issued in 1961 by the Malaya and British Borneo Board of Commissioners of Currency, and pre-dating Singapore’s independence.
“I got my first piece probably about five to six years back. I paid over S$1,000 for it,” the 47-year-old engineer said.
Mr Loh estimates that his collection of more than 1,000 banknotes is worth over S$100,000. It is kept in a safe at home. “In the event of an emergency, besides worrying about my life, the first thing in my mind would be to grab my collection before I run. It’s not so much because of the monetary value but its sentimental value,” said the father of three.
related: The man who designed S’pore’s longest-running currency series
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The Singapore Dollar SGD
The Singapore dollar (sign: S$; code: SGD) is the official currency of the Republic of Singapore. It is divided into 100 cents. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issues the banknotes and coins of the Singapore dollar.
As of 2022, the Singapore dollar is the 10th most-traded currency in the world by value. Apart from its use in Singapore, the Singapore dollar is also accepted as customary tender in Brunei according to the Currency Interchangeability Agreement between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam). Likewise, the Brunei dollar is also customarily accepted in Singapore.
Banknotes Series:
- Orchid series 1967 - The Orchid Series of currency notes is the earliest to be in for circulation in Singapore. Issued in the years 1967 to 1976, it has nine denominations: $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, and $10,000. Each note has an orchid design in the centre of the note's front, the orchid being the national flower of Singapore. A scene of Singapore is depicted on the back, which varies across denominations. Standard on each note, is the Coat of Arms, a lion head watermark, and the signature of the Minister for Finance and chairman of the BCCS, on the front of the note. As an added security feature, all notes have at least one vertically embedded security thread, while the $10,000 note has two.
- Bird series 1976 - The Bird Series of currency notes is the second set of notes to be issued for circulation in Singapore. Issued in the years 1976 to 1984, it has nine denominations, the same number as in the Orchid Series, albeit the $25 note was replaced by the $20 note. Each note features a bird on the left side of the note's front, a theme selected to represent a young Singapore "ever ready to take flight to greater heights". Standard on each note, is the Coat of Arms, a lion head watermark, and the signature of the Minister for Finance and chairman of the BCCS, on the front of the note. As an added security feature, all notes have a vertically embedded security thread, while the $1,000 and $10,000 notes have two.
- Ship series 1984 - The Ship Series of currency notes is the third set of notes to be issued for circulation in Singapore. Issued in the years 1984 to 1999, it retains the number of denominations as was in the previous two series of notes, but switches the $20 note for the $2 one. A maritime theme to reflect Singapore's maritime heritage was adopted, and progressively shows across the various denominations, the different kinds of ships which have plied Singapore's waters as the country developed. These vignettes are located on the front of the note. On the back, various scenes depicting Singapore's achievements are shown, as well as an orchid, to symbolise the country's national flower. Standard on each note, is the Coat of Arms, a lion head watermark, and the signature of the Minister for Finance and chairman of the BCCS, on the front of the note. As an added security feature, all notes have a vertically embedded security thread.
- Portrait series 1999 - The current Portrait series was introduced in 1999, with the one- and 500-dollar denominations omitted. These notes feature the face of Yusof bin Ishak, the first president of the Republic of Singapore, on the obverse, and the reverse depicts a feature of civic virtue. There are both paper and polymer notes in circulation. The designs of the polymer notes are very similar to the corresponding paper note except for the slightly slippery feel and a small transparent window design in the corner of the banknote. Polymer notes are progressively replacing the paper banknotes in circulation. The notes also have Braille patterns at the top right-hand corner of the front design.
Singapore Currency Notes
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