We continue the story of the British colonies that once existed in Southeast Asia. This review will focus on the colonies of Great Britain, located on the Malacca Peninsula and the island of Kalimantan, after gaining independence, which became part of the modern state of Malaysia: Straits Settlements, Sarawak, North Borneo.
Straits Settlements
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Spanish colonial currency was widely used in calculations in the East Indies (mainly Mexican and Peruvian pesos), as well as the currency of neighboring Malay states (Kelantan and Trenganu caps, Penang dollar).
The English colonization of the Malacca Peninsula began in 1786 with the receipt from the ruler of the Kedah Sultanate of the colonial possession of Pinang Island, located in the west of the peninsula. In 1800, Great Britain bought part of the coast opposite the island from the Sultan. In 1824, the Netherlands ceded the territories of Malacca and Singapore by treaty. In 1826, the territories of Pinang, Malacca and Singapore were merged into the Eastern Presidency of British India, called Straits Settlements, which means "Settlements by the Strait" (meaning the Strait of Malacca). After the unification of the territories, the East India Company attempted to introduce an Indian rupee in circulation in the colony, but the Mexican dollar turned out to be more convenient in calculations. It was not until 1837 that the Indian rupee attained legal tender status.
The first own coins for Straits Settlements with a date of 1845 went into circulation on June 1, 1847. These were denominations of ¼, ½ and 1 cent minted on copper blanks. The obverse of the coins depicts the profile of Queen Victoria, on the reverse the denomination and the legend EAST INDIA COMPANY (East India Company).
KM # 2, ½ cents 1845, copper, 18.7 MMex. single year of manufacture
KM # 3, 1 cent 1845, copper, 18.5 M equivalent, single year of manufacture
The engraver of the first issue coins was the chief engraver of the Royal Mint of Great Britain, William Wyon. The entire issue was minted at the Calcutta Mint. At the same time, 100 cents of new coins were equal to 1 Philippine or Mexican peso. Due to the large number of coins in circulation in the Spanish colonies, the colony did not yet need to mint its own silver coins.
William Wyon (1795-1851)
The coins of the next line, issued in 1862 in the same composition, already had another legend - INDIA STRAITS (India Straits), which foreshadowed the imminent allocation of territories to an independent colony. Engraver - William Wyon. Coins were minted by the Calcutta mint.
KM # 6, 1 cent 1862, copper, 9.3 M equivalent, single year of manufacture
In 1867, Straits Settlements was removed from British India and received the status of an independent crown colony of Great Britain, in connection with which the Indian rupee loses its status as legal tender.
Finally, in 1871-1872, a full line of coins was issued for circulation in the colony, which included, in addition to copper coins of "traditional" denominations, silver coins in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents. On the obverse is the same Victoria, on the reverse is the full name of the STRAITS SETTLEMENTS colony. Engraver - Leonard Charles Wyon (Leonard Charles Wyon) - the eldest son of William Wyon.
Leonard Charles Wyon (1826-1891)
KM # 9, 1 cent 1874, copper, 10 M equivalent, years 1872-1883
KM # 10, 5 cents 1901, silver 0.800, 3 M ex. years 1871-1901
KM # 11, 10 cents 1900, silver 0.800, 3 M ex. years 1871-1901
KM # 12, 20 cents 1898, silver 0.800, 580 thousand copies, years of production 1871-1901
As you can see, silver coins did not change their design throughout the entire release period for 30 years, while the trifle withstood three emissions. At first it was a transition to bronze blanks, and then there were not so obvious changes in stamps.
KM # 16, 1 cent 1890, bronze, 11 M ex. years 1887-1901
In 1898, responsibility for monetary circulation in the colony was assigned to the Council of Commissioners for Monetary Circulation. At the same time, the almost uncontrolled issuance of banknotes by private banks was prohibited.
The coin range of the next British monarch, Edward VII, was expanded by the addition of a $1 coin, which became the standard unit of value (Straits dollar).
Despite only 9 years of his reign, he managed to issue several varieties of coins. The first line of silver coins in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents had a silver sample of 0.800. Then, in 1907, the sample of the 50 cent coin was increased to 0.900, and in 1909-1910 the sample of the remaining denominations was reduced to 0.600. In addition, 50 cents and a dollar of the 1907 model year lost almost a quarter in weight compared to the first issues. This was done in order to prevent the remelting of coins due to a decrease in the face value of coins in relation to the value of silver. Engraver - George William de Saulles.
George William de Solles (1862-1903)
KM # 17, ¼ cents 1905, bronze, 2 million ex. years 1905,1908
KM # 19, 1 cent 1904, bronze, 6.6 MMex, production years 1903-1908
KM # 20a, 5 cents 1910, silver 0.600, 13 million ex. years 1902-1910
KM # 21a, 10 cents 1910, silver 0.600, 1.7 M ex. years 1902-1910
KM # 22a, 20 cents 1910, silver 0.600, 3.3 M ex. years 1902-1910
It should be noted that until 1904, parallel circulation of currencies of other states, including British pounds, Mexican pesos and Hong Kong dollars, was allowed. The governor of the colony, Sir John Anderson, on August 24, 1904, by his proclamation in the official publication of the Straits Settlements Government Gazette, banned the circulation of foreign currencies from August 31, 1904 and determined the Straits dollar (Straits Settlements dollar) as the only legal tender in the colony. In addition to tidying up settlements on its territory, the colonial government pursued the goal of linking the Straits dollar to the gold standard. During the exchange process, the value of foreign currencies gradually decreased, and as soon as the value of the Straits dollar reached 2 shillings 4 pence (2s 4d) to the value of the British pound sterling (the gold standard rate at that time), the Straits dollar was officially converted to the gold standard. The exit from the gold standard was carried out in 1931, when the exchange rate of the Straits dollar was officially tied to the free exchange rate of the British pound sterling.
The first coins with the profile of George V were issued in 1916 with a limited composition: bronze ¼ and ½ cents and silver 10 and 20 cents. The remaining coins of the line were minted later: 5 cents in 1918, 1 cent and 1 dollar in 1919, 50 cents in 1920. Note the redesign and shape of the 1 cent coin. Engraver - Edgar Bertram Mackennal.
Edgar Bertram McKennal (1863-1931)
KM # 27, ¼ cents 1916, bronze, 4 MMex. single year of manufacture
KM # 28, ½ cents 1916, bronze, 3 MMex. single year of manufacture
KM # 32, 1 cent 1919, bronze, 20.2 M ex, years 1919-1926
KM # 31, 5 cents 1919, silver 0.600, 6.9 million ex. years 1918-1920
KM # 29b, 10 cents 1926, silver 0.600, 20 M ex, production years 1926-1927
KM # 30, 20 cents 1917, silver 0.600, 652 thousand copies, years of production 1916-1935
KM # 35.1, 50 cents 1920, silver 0.500, 3.9 M ex. years 1920-1921
In 1932, a coin with a face value of ½ cents was reissued on a square blank. The design is the same as the 1 cent coin issued earlier.
KM # 37, ½ cent 1932, bronze, 5 MMex. single year of manufacture
It is noteworthy that the sample of later issued coins of senior denominations (0.500) turned out to be less than the previously issued smaller denominations (0.600). The post-war global crisis and the associated rise in price of precious metals affected. Throughout the entire release period, there were jumps in the sample of silver coins in denominations of 10 and 20 cents (from 0.600 to 0.400 and vice versa), without changing the design.
KM # 30b, 20 cents 1935, silver 0.600, 1 M ex, production years 1926-1935
And denominations of 5 cents in 1920 were generally issued on copper-nickel billets. Silver for minting coins of this denomination was returned only in 1926 .
KM # 34, 5 cents 1920, cupro-nickel, 20 M equivalent, single year of manufacture
KM # 36, 5 cents 1935, silver 0.600, 3 million ex. years 1926, 1935
In addition, the $1 coins issued in 1919 had to be urgently withdrawn from circulation in order to avoid their melting and replaced with banknotes of the same denomination.
Let's go back to the geography of the Malacca Peninsula. In addition to the random territories scattered along the coast of the Straits Settlements colony, the rest of the peninsula was occupied by 4 states in the Federated States of Malaya and 4 states in the non-federated states. Both of them, despite their "independence," were under the protectorate of Great Britain and were actually ruled by it. Established in October 1938, the Board of Currency Commissioners of Malaya recommended that the exclusive right to issue currency be granted to all Malay states and settlements in the straits of the Panmalayan Currency Commission.
Regulation No. 23 of 1938 "On the currency of Straits Settlements" during 1939 was ratified by all Malay states concerned, and in 1939 the first issue of a common currency for Malay states took place with the legend COMMISSIONERS OF CURRENCY MALAYA (Board of Commissioners of Foreign Exchange Malaya) and the profile of George VI.
The composition of the line was limited to coins in denominations of ½, 1, 5, 10 and 20 cents. Engraver - Percy Metcalfe.
Percy Metcalfe (1895-1970)
KM # 1, ½ cents 1940, bronze, 6 MMex. single year of manufacture
KM # 2, 1 cent 1940, bronze, 23.6 MMex. production years 1939-1941
KM # 3a, 5 cents 1943, silver 0.500, 10 M ex. years 1943.1945
KM # 4, 10 cents 1941, silver 0.750, 17 million ex. years 1939,1941
KM # 5a, 20 cents 1943, silver 0.500, 5 million exes, production years 1943-1945
Note that silver coins in the period from 1939 to 1941 were issued in 0.750 samples, while in the period from 1943 to 1945, the sample was reduced to 0.500. This is due to the temporary cessation of the activities of the Board of Commissioners for Foreign Exchange Malaya during the Japanese occupation in World War II (1942-1945). Also, in 1943, a 1 cent coin was reissued in a reduced size due to the increased need for non-ferrous metals for military needs.
KM # 6, 1 cent 1945, bronze, 40 M equivalent, years 1943,1945
In 1948-1950, coins were reissued for Malaya in denominations of 5, 10 and 20 cents on copper-nickel blanks. In 1952, the council was renamed the Board of Currency Commissioners of Malaya and British Borneo. Coins for Malaya and British Borneo were issued with the profile of Elizabeth II until 1961, before the states gained independence from Great Britain.
It will not be superfluous to add to this review coins of two more pro-British territories that once existed in the territories of modern Malaysia. These are the Kingdom of Sarawak and the British North Borneo Protectorate. Both are part of the so-called "East Malaysia," located on the island of Kalimantan (Borneo) and separated from "West Malaysia" by the East China Sea.
Sarawak
The territories of Sarawak until 1839 were part of the Sultanate of Brunei. In 1839, a retired official of the East India Company, part-time adventurer and adventurer James Brooke, helped the local sultan in suppressing the rebellion, for which he was rewarded with a small territory on the Sarawak River. In 1842, James Brook founded the city of Kuching there, which later became the capital of his private state and the citadel of the White Raja dynasty - the rulers of Sarawak.
Sarawak's first "white" Raja James Brooke (1803-1868)
The first and only line of coins with the profile of the founder of the state was issued in 1863. It consisted of three denominations of copper coins in denominations of ¼, ½ and 1 cent.
KM # 3, 1 cent 1863, copper, single year of manufacture
2nd Raja of Sarawak - Charles Anthony Johnson Brook, was the nephew of James Brook. As James Brooke had no children of his own, he made his younger sister's son his heir. Charles Johnson Brooke ruled for a long time - almost 50 years.
Second "white" Raja of Sarawak Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke (1829-1917)
During this period, he issued two lines of coins. The first line of coins with its composition repeated the line of its predecessor in and also included ¼, ½ and 1 cent.
KM # 6, 1 cent 1870, copper, years 1870-1891
In 1892, the design of the one-cent coin changed: the portrait became smaller, a hole appeared in the center of the coin.
KM # 7, 1 cent 1894, copper, 1.6 M equivalent, years 1892-1897
The second line of coins was issued in 1900 and included only silver coins of four denominations - 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents.
Third "white" Raja of Sarawak Charles Weiner de Windt Brooke (1874-1963)
Coins of the third and last rajah of Sarawak - Charles Weiner Brook, who was the son of Charles Johnson, began to be minted in 1920. Coins were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20 cents from silver 0.400 samples. The design is close to the coins of its predecessor.
In the same 1920, due to the high cost of silver, coins in denominations of 5 and 10 cents were issued on copper-nickel blanks and a copper-nickel coin of 1 cent was also added to the line.
KM # 16, 10 cents 1934, copper-nickel alloy, 2 million exes, production years 1920-1934
In 1933, a bronze coin in denominations of ½ cents was added to the line of negotiable coins.
In 1937, the 1 cent coin was now reissued on bronze blanks, and the senior denomination of the line, the 50 cent coin, was also produced.
KM # 18, 1 cent 1937, bronze, 3 M ex. years 1927-1937
It is impossible not to notice that almost all the coins of the three rulers of Sarawak have a similar design.
The territories of Sarawak also fell under Japanese occupation and in 1945 were liberated by Australian troops. In 1946, the last "White Raja," Charles Weiner Brooke, in exchange for a life boarding house, transferred the territory of Sarawak to the British Empire. Since the indigenous population "forgot to ask" about this, mass protests and strikes began to spontaneously arise throughout the country. Even an underground radical terrorist organization arose that prepared and successfully implemented the assassination of the second governor of Sarawak in 1949. On 16 September 1963, Sarawak became part of the independent state of Malaysia.
North Borneo
The history of the next territory is no less interesting. Before 1888 became a British protectorate, the lands on the coast of the East China Sea east of Sarawak pretty much "went hand in hand." Initially, in 1865 they were acquired on lease for 10 years from the Sultan of Brunei by the American consul Claude Lee Moses. The Americans did not have much interest in these lands, so the territories were resold to a private trading company from Hong Kong, the American Trading Company of Borneo. In 1875, due to financial difficulties, the Hong Kong company sold North Borneo to the consul of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Hong Kong, Baron von Overbeck. Austria-Hungary also showed no interest in these lands, after which Baron von Overbeck transfers the rights to manage the lands to entrepreneurs brothers Alfred and Eduard Dent. In 1881, the brothers founded the British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd., later transformed into the British North Borneo Chartered Company, which received permission from the British Empire to develop the territory and organize settlements. In 1888, North Borneo became a protectorate of Great Britain, but continued to be managed by the Dent brothers.
The first coins were issued in 1882-1885. These were bronze ½ and 1 cent. It is noteworthy that on the obverse of the coins there are inscriptions in three languages: English, Chinese and Arabic, which testifies to the multinational composition of the territories of North Borneo and the desire of the authorities to gain popularity of the new currency among the indigenous population. The North Borneo dollar rate equated to the Straits dollar. Since, together with permission from the British Empire, the Dent brothers received a charter to issue their own money for North Borneo, the legend on the coins contains the name of the company "British North Borneo Co."
KM # 2, 1 cent 1888, bronze, 6 M ex, production years 1882-1907
In 1903-1904, the line of coins was updated and its composition was changed. Now, in addition to the 1 cent coin, it includes coins of 2 ½ and 5 cents. The inscriptions are already only in English, blanks made of copper-nickel alloy. Legend - State of North Borneo.
KM # 3, 1 cent 1941, copper-nickel alloy, 1 million equivalent, production years 1904-1941
KM # 5, 5 cents 1938, copper-nickel alloy, 500 thousand equivalent, production years 1903-1941
In 1929, the only silver coin in the history of North Borneo with a face value of 25 cents was put into circulation. Circulation 400 thousand copies. Together with her, for the entire existence of British North Borneo, only 6 different types of coins were issued.
Further in the history of North Borneo, everything is the same as in Sarawak. In 1941 - the Japanese occupation, in 1945 - the liberation of the Australians, in 1946 - the sale of the territories of the British Empire with North Borneo receiving the status of a crown colony, in 1963 - the entry of North Borneo into Malaysia as a state.