Remarks upon certain currency notes, coins and tokens emanating from Malaya during and after the war
This short note by J.A.S. Bucknill (1922) examines the disruption to Malayan coinage caused by the post-war silver price surge and the improvised measures taken to replace the withdrawn currency.
Summary
Bucknill traces the long decline in silver prices from 1870 to 1910 and explains how the post-war appreciation rendered Malayan silver coins worth more as bullion than at face value, prompting their export and melting. Despite legislative attempts to curb export and hoarding, the dollar and subsidiary silver coins rapidly disappeared from circulation by 1917, and even the bronze coinage began to vanish (p. 125). The Government faced a difficult situation: the Indian Mints were overburdened and the Royal Siamese Mint at Bangkok could not assist for technical reasons, so it was nearly three years before replacement coins appeared.
In the interim, the first emergency measure was the issue of a locally printed 10 cent note produced at the Government Printing Works, Singapore. Bucknill describes these notes as being printed on thick, coarse, open-textured paper that tore easily and absorbed dirt, making them unpopular. He provides detailed physical specifications: approximately 117 × 76 mm in size, coloured yellow, green, and black on the face and red on the reverse, with a simple design consisting of a yellow background bearing the words “Ten Cents” in repeated horizontal lines, overprinted with a green border containing a small representation of the Royal Arms and associated phrasing (p. 125).