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Singapore Mint

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Singapore Mint
IndustryMetalworking
Founded1968; 56 years ago (1968)
FounderGoh Keng Swee
Headquarters
Singapore
Number of locations
3
ProductsCoins
ParentSembcorp
Websitewww.singaporemint.com

The Singapore Mint is a Singaporean mint manufacturer.[1] The Singapore Mint is a fully owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries.[2]

History

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The Singapore Mint is established in 1968 as a basic minting facility to produce circulation coins for Singapore.[3] It produced Singapore's first and second series of circulation coins.

In 1984, the Brunei Currency Board, of newly independent Brunei, ordered four million circulation coins and 8,000 sets of commemorative coins.[4] The one cent coin was struck in bronze with the five, ten, twenty and fifty cents coins in cupro-nickel.[4] The commemorative coin set included a one dollar coin which is struck in cupro-nickel.[4] The 50 cents and 1 dollar coin have additional security feature with a reeded edge with dots between lines at regular interval while other countries' circulation coins are mill-edged.[4]

On 13 November 1987, the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore appointed Singapore Mint as the sole sales agent for commemorative coins issued by the Board.[5] The mint also became the exclusive marketing agent and distributor of Singapore gold bullion coins.[5]

The mint currently also produces other countries' circulation coins.[6]

On 21 February 2013, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a third series of Singapore circulation coins but the contract to produce the coins went to the Royal Canadian Mint.[6]

The Singapore Mint has 3 retail stores.[7]

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In 1983, a Coin Gallery, located at Jalan Boon Lay, was opened by the Singapore Mint to the public as a mini museum showing the history of Singapore coinage.[8] As the gallery is located in the restricted premises of Chartered Industries of Singapore, arrangements need to be made to visit the gallery.[8]

Notable Production History

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Singapore 150th anniversary commemorative coin

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In 1969, the Singapore Mint released its first commemorative coin to mark the 150th anniversary of modern Singapore's founding.[9] Weighing 24.88 and minted with .916 fineness gold with a $150 face value, the coin featured the Raffles Lighthouse, a landmark in Singapore. It has a mintage of 198,000.[10]

Changi Airport commemorative coin

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With the opening of Singapore's Changi Airport in 1981, the mint produced 2 commemorative coins of the same design featuring the airport's control tower. One coin was minted in .925 silver weighing 20 grams[11] while the other was minted in copper-nickel weighing 17 grams.[12] The latter was the mint's first production of cupro-nickel coins.[9] Both coins had a $5 face value.

Pope John Paul II Singapore visit medallion

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In 1986, Pope John Paul II made his inaugural trip to Singapore, signifying the first-ever visit by a Catholic pontiff to the country. The Singapore Mint commemorated this visit with a cupro-nickel medallion with the pope's portrait on one side and a flying dove with the words “Love and Peace” on the other side.[13]

50th Anniversary of Singapore Airlines

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In 1997, the 50th anniversary of Singapore Airlines, Singapore's national carrier, was commemorated with the issue of 3 coins - a $50 one ounce gold proof coin (with .9999 fineness), a $5 30-gram silver proof (with .925 fineness), and a $5 20-gram copper-nickel coin.[14] The coins' reverse featured a Singapore Airlines airplane with the text "Singapore Airlines 50th Anniversary".

Trump-Kim summit medallions

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In 2018, the Singapore Mint produced three commemorative medallions to mark the Trump-Kim summit - a half ounce gold proof medallion with .9999 fineness, a one ounce silver proof medallion with .999 fineness, and a nickel-plated zinc medallion. The gold and silver medallions had an initial 1,000 and 10,000 mintage initially but were increased to 3,000 and 15,000 pieces due to "overwhelming" demand.[15]

NS55 silver medallion

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In 2022, the Singapore Mint produced a commemorative 20-gram NS55 silver proof-like medallion in celebration of Singapore's 55th year of National Service (NS). Minted with .999 fineness silver, the medallion featured five uniformed servicemen from the Republic of Singapore Navy, the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the Singapore Army, the Singapore Police Force, and the Republic of Singapore Air Force.[16]

Incident

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in 2020, the mint launched a series of commemorative medallions and a copper bust to mark the fifth anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew's death.[2] The collection was supposed to be the second issue of the mint's Singapore Salute Series.[2] The sales were suspended shortly after public criticism of Singapore Mint profiting from Lee's image and also possibility of breaching Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth's (MCCY) guidelines of using Lee's image for "commercial exploitation".[2] MCCY replied that it was aware of the launch and declined commenting on whether guidelines were breached.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Beginning Years:Singaporemint.com". Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e Yong, Clement; Iau, Jean (2 March 2020). "Singapore Mint suspends orders for medallions marking 5th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew's death". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  3. ^ "How the Singapore Mint makes commemorative coins". CNA. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "Brunei using S'pore-made coins for the first time". Singapore Monitor. 29 August 1984. p. 2. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Mint to handle sale of coins". The Straits Times. 14 November 1987. p. 21. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. ^ a b "No longer jingling in your pockets, coins may one day be used as collateral instead". TODAY. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  7. ^ "The Singapore Mint | Store Locator". www.singaporemint.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b "$1m coin gallery opens to the public". The Straits Times. 22 September 1983. p. 15. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
  9. ^ a b "Singapore's commemorative coins record historic moments big and small". CNA. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  10. ^ "150 Dollars, Singapore". en.numista.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  11. ^ "5 Dollars, Singapore". en.numista.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  12. ^ "5 Dollars, Singapore". en.numista.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Pope's first visit to Singapore (1986) | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Search the coin catalogue – Numista". en.numista.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Singapore Mint unveils commemorative coins to mark Trump-Kim summit". TODAY. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Singapore Mint launches commemorative NS55 medallion". CNA. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
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