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Auction: 25008 - World Banknotes
Lot: 452B

Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya, 5 Dollars, 1st January 1940, serial number A/1 000368,
This $5 note belongs to the historic first series of Malayan banknotes issued under British colonial administration, dated 1st January 1940. It bears the serial number A/1 000368 — a matching serial number to the $1 note offered in the previous lot — a rare pairing that links two denominations from the same inaugural print run.These notes were introduced as part of a sweeping monetary reform that replaced the Straits Settlements dollar and unified the currency across the British territories in Southeast Asia. The obverse features King George VI, while the reverse displays the coats of arms of the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, and Brunei — a visual emblem of imperial cohesion in a region on the brink of upheaval.As World War II escalated, British authorities ordered vast quantities of these new banknotes to be printed in preparation for economic disruption. In early 1942, during the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia, a large shipment of these freshly printed notes was lost at sea — either sunk by enemy action or deliberately scuttled to prevent capture. Another consignment was allegedly intercepted by German forces, though official confirmation has never been produced.The possibility that these unissued notes had fallen into enemy hands led to the overprinting or destruction of the remaining stocks at the end of the war. Consequently, genuine, untouched examples of this original series — especially with such early serial numbers — are extremely rare.
(Pick 5, BNB 102as1), in PMG holder...

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Estimate
£4,000 to £7,000

Starting price
£4000