Commemorative Coins - Malaysia Independence Anniversaries

20th Anniversary Of Independence In Malaysia  -   1977

Coin Value :  1 Ringgit ;  Material : Copper-Nickel ;  Minted By: Franklin Mint , USA

25th Anniversary Of Independence In Malaysia  -  1982

Coin Value :  1 Ringgit ;  Material : Copper-Nickel ;  Minted By: Royal Mint UK 

Coin Value : 25 Ringgit: Material : 0.5 Silver ;   Minted By: Royal Mint UK

30th Anniversary Of Independence In Malaysia  -  1987

Coin Value :  $1 ;  Material : Copper-Zinc ;  Minted By: Singapore UK 

Coin Value :  $10 ;  Material : 0.5 Silver ; Weight : 10.82 gm ;Minted By: Singapore UK

45th Anniversary Of Independence In Malaysia  - 2002

Coin Value :  1 Ringgit;  Material : Nordic Gold ; Weight : 9.16 gm ;

Minted By : Royal Mint Of Malaysia ;  Issue Price :  Rm7

Coin Value :  10 Ringgit;  Material : 0.925 Silver ; Weight : 21.7 gm ;

Minted By : Royal Mint Of Malaysia ;  Issue Price :  Rm128

50th Anniversary Of Independence In Malaysia  - 2007

Coin Value :  1 Ringgit;  Material : Nordic Gold ; Weight : 8.8 gm ;

Minted By : Royal Mint Of Malaysia ;  Issue Price :  Rm15

Coin Value :  10 Ringgit;  Material : 0.925 Silver ; Weight : 21.0 gm ;

Minted By : Royal Mint Of Malaysia ;  Issue Price :  Rm235

Malaysia 3rd Series Coins - 2011

The 3rd series of new coins were introduced in 2011 with the lowest denomination being 5 sen as the 1 sen value coin had ceased circulation in market transactions due to high inflation rate.  The material composition had been changed to reduce production cost. The coin features are as follows:

 5 Sen :  stainless steel material, plain edge; light weight of 1.72 gm;  diameter 17.78 mm
10 Sen : stainless steel material, lightly milled edge; light weight of 2.98 gm; diameter 18.80 mm
20 Sen : nickel brass material, coarse milled edge; weight 4.18 gm; diameter 20.6 mm
50 Sen : nickel brass coated material; weight 5.66 gm; diameter 22.65 mm 

Design for  the 50 sen coin is more distinctive with nine indented features on the coin edge.

Malaysia 2nd Series Of Coins

 The 1st Dollar Coin  - 1971
Malaysia minted the 1st dollar coin as legal tender in 1971. This $1 coin was minted randomly in low quantity from the period of 1971 - 1986  along side with the 1 Ringgit currency note for circulation.
Diameter : 33.9 mm  ;  Weight : 17.0 gm ;  Material :  Copper-Nickel Alloy
Only 500 pieces of the $1 coin were minted as proof coin.

The 2nd series of Malaysian coins  -  Introduced in 1989

1  sen copper clad steel coin ; diameter 17.78 mm  x  1.26 mm thickness
5  sen copper-nickel alloy coin ; diameter 16.25 mm  x  1.04 mm thickness
10 sen copper-nickel alloy coin;  diameter 19.40 mm  x  1.37 mm thickness
20 sen copper-nickel alloy coin; diameter 23.59 mm  x  1.75 mm thickness
50 sen copper- nickel alloy coin; diameer 27.76 mm  x  2.18 mm thickness
1 Ringgit copper-nickel alloy coin; diameter 24.5 mm  x  2.60 mm thickness ; weight : 9.3 gm

The 2nd One Ringgit Coin - 1989 - 1996
The 1 Ringgit coin was initially minted featuring $1 design, but from 1993 onwards the $1 design feature was later changed to 1 RINGGIT. Both design features of $1 and 1 RINGGIT value were minted during the year 1993.  Diameter : 24.5 mm ; Thickness : 2.6 mm ;  Weight: 9.3 gm.  Mintage production stopped in 1996

About Malaysia 50 Sen Coin Value

The Security-Edged 50 Sen Coin 1967 - 1969

Most Malaysian 50 Sen coins issued from 1967 - 1968 should probably be found in EF condition and with security edge. The market value of these security-edged coins has gone up higher than the nominal coin value over the years. The 50 Sen coin of 1969 year production is comparatively more attractive for collection as the mintage quantity in that year is only 2,000,000 pieces, being the lowest within the yearly mintage  period from 1967 - 1988.

 The Milled edge 50 Sen Coin 1967 -1969

These Milled edge 50 sen coins are very rare coins and can easily fetch more than RM300 for EF condition if you are lucky to find one. And year 1969 coins will definitely be very much higher than RM300. 

BU and UNC collections for any of these coins will bring the most lucrative investment rewards for collectors.

Understand more about Coin Grading Condition ................

The Introduction Of Malaysia's Offical Currency

Brief History Of The Federation of Malaya and today's Malaysia.
The Federation of Malaya (referred to as Persekutuan Tanah Melayu in Malay language) consist of 9 Malay  states and 2 British Straits Settlement States within the peninsula. Both Penang and Malacca were under British colonial rule from the period 31st January 1948 - 16 September 1963, while the 9 Malay states were protectorates of the United Kingdom.

The Malayan federation lead by the chief minister Tunku Abdul Rahman achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957 and Tunku then became the first prime minister of Malaysia. The federation later reconstitued to include 3 other regional British territories, that is Singapore, Sarawak and British North Borneo (renamed as Sabah), forming the constituition of MALAYSIA in 1963. Singapore later left the Malaysian Constituition and became an independent republic on 9 August 1963.

The Introduction Of Malaysia's Official Currency 

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) was established in 1959 as the national bank for Malaysia and empowered to control Malaysia's treasury currency production. But the previous Board of Commissioner of Currency  Malaya & British Borneo still remained as the official legal tender notes for about 8 years before Malaysia's own currency unit was introduced.1967 with the initiation of the Ringgit (dollar) and Sen (cent).  The exchange value for One Ringgit (Rm1) was then equivalent to 0.290299 gram of gold.

Currency Notes - Grading Criterion

Clear details of folding or creases on circulated notes can be clearly seen when held at slanting eye level against the light.  Criterion for grading currency notes are classified under 9 grades as follows:

Uncirculated ( UNC )
A perfect note which had been well preserved and apparently not released out for circulation. Such UNC notes are firm with sharp clean edges and corners. The color should be original and without finger print marks.

About Uncirculated ( AU )
AU notes may have gone into circulation as evidenced by slight counting folds on the surface, but still well preserved with minimal defects. The note still look new with the surface being clean and smooth. There should be no visible signs of folding and creases.

Extremely Fine ( EF )
EF notes have gone through circulation but still in cleanly preserved maintaining the original sharp corners and without discoloration on the surface. Exremely fine grade criterion is not more than 3 light folds; or just allowed to have 1 serious fold impact.

Very Fine ( VF )
VF notes are still considered attractive although they have gone through horizontal and vertical folding as well as rough handling in circulation. There can be some dirty marks or stains, but the note must still retains the original firmness and texture. The corners will look slightly crumpled, but not torn.

Fine ( F )
Fine notes are wrinkled with numerous folds and creases, have dirty marks and minor tear at the edges. Design features of the note is still clear,but the color is less bright. One or two pinholes may appear near the border.

Very Good ( VG )
VG notes texture still look fine but the corners are slightly out of shape. The note is less firm, disclored and has some dirty stains. Usually a small hole will appear in the note center point due to numerous folding both horizontally and vertically. The note surface is not smooth with minor notch.

Good ( G )
The appearance condition of Good note is poor, dirty, have stains, pinholes, discolored, torn edges and rounded corners, center hole, and even visible cases of graffiti. Such notes had been roughly used with numerous severe folds here and there.

Fair ( FA )
The note condition is soft, dirty and torn with some portion missing.

Poor ( P )
Such ( P ) condition notes are almost beyond recognition from the original feature with severe tear and wear, stains, graffiti, large holes and missing portions. Transparent tapes are also being used to fixed back torn pieces. 
 


 

Coins - Grading Criterion

Experience can be an asset for rating the condition of coins. Vintage coins need to be graded correctly in order to determine a fair value for them. Proof coins are perfect quality mint products and always fetch the highest price in any call auction bids. The coin grading system is classified under 9 grade criterion as listed below:

PROOF COINs  have very sharp clear features as they are minted using specially prepared die and blanking tools to produce well polished design features.

Fleur de Coin (FDC) can be graded as Proof Coin, as perfect as the original mint state coins. Such FDC grade coin maintains its full luster without any trace of marking of  or abrasion.

Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) coins will maintain full luster without being toned or tarnished. The metallic color tone of circulated coins will definitely deviate from the original tone specification and change to tarnished state once they are released for public circulation.

Uncirculated (UNC)  is the grade applicable to coins that do not have visible abrasion or scratches, but are tarnished and with some changes in the original metallic color tone.

Extremely Fine (EF) coins may still maintain some luster and sharp clear features of mint state, but with faint sign of negilible wear.

Very Fine (VF) are applied to coins that rather worn out, maintaining minimal luster around the embossed text script area

Fine (F) coins still show the minted features, but with visible fine scratches or may even have minor indentation on the edges or coin surface.

Good (G)  condition coins are not worth collecting unless they are unique and rare. Most of the features on the coin surface are worn out and flattened with some areas being illegible. There may be
small notches or indentation on the edge or surface too.

Poor / Fair (P) coins are worthless for collection as they are almost completely worn out and usually beyond recognition, except for the faint design outline.

How To Assess The Value And Condition Of Coins And Notes
Learning to assess the value and condition of coins and notes are quite complicated. Newbies are advised to do some research from published coin collection books and deal only with honest collectors in order to get more reliable grading for their coins and notes. 


How To Start Coins And Notes Collection As A Newbie Collector
Many started collecting coins and notes as souvenir items or hobby collectible items before becoming serious in such vintage collection as full time investment.  Newbies should base on their financial budget as a guideline and start from ordinary collection and subsequently amass wider range and rare coins and notes later. It is beneficial to get acquainted with other collectors to learn more from them and also work on fair exchanging deals for mutual benefits. Interested beginners are advised to read and gain more knowledge on value of coins and notes from reference books in order to enhance the skill in assessing the condition and value of their collection.

Cleaning And Preservation Of Coins
The value of coins will be affected if they are not properly preserved and wrongly cleaned or polished using chemicals  with the intention to make them shine like uncirculated coin condition. It is better to avoid cleaning them unless with the supervision of experienced collectors or dealers.

• To avoid destruction and devaluation by mildew, always keep the collection in dry room temperature condtion. The storage containers should be kept clean and dry, totally free from any kind of liquid or destructive contents.
• Notes should preferably be handled with tweezers to avoid spoiling the surface with finger prints or sweating hands. The notes should never be folded. For safer preservation it is better to place the notes in paper envelopes instead of plastic bags. 
• Beware of termites, cockroaches, rats and other tiny pests which can cause serious damages to the coins and notes if they are kept in humid and messy condition.
• Avoid exposure to direct sunlight in order to preserve the original color from fading. Chemical reaction from storage items like plastic bags, old newspaper, dirty wrappers may cause destructive damages to metallic coins and currency notes over prolonged storage period.

 

About Vintage Coins & Currencies Collection

Coin collection is the collecting or trading of coins or treasury notes which are minted or printed for legal tender, especially those which originated during form the historical period from the 18th to 20th century.

Casual coin collectors usually begin the hobby by saving notable coins obtained by chance, especially through pocket loose changes left from a travel trip. It could also start off from some old and rare coins that were left behind by the ancestors who had passed away and were being kept as souvenirs for remembrance.

Most hobbyist collectors amass them purely for fun with no real expectation of profit. This is especially true of casual collectors and children who collect items on the basis of chance and personal interest.

But motivations for collecting are varied as purchasing vintage coins can be both a hobby as well as an investment too. As with other precious metals and postage stamps, coin prices are cyclical based on availability in market circulation and collectors' demand.

The metallurgical composition of the coin itself is of great interest. A collector may simply collect coins of bimetallic composition. Precious metals like gold, silver, copper and platinum are preferred collections due to higher probability for more lucrative returns on investment, But some enthusiasts may also pursue historically significant pieces like the 18th or 19th century, while others collect ancient and medieval coins.

Collectors with an interest in a certain subject such as ships or animals will focus on coins depicting those subjects when available in circulation or at auction sales.