Found a stack of old Singapore notes in a drawer? The honest answer first: almost all of them are worth their face value and nothing more. Every note Singapore has issued since 1967 is still legal tender, so a Bird Series $50 will still buy you $50 of groceries. A small number of notes do trade above face value on the collector market, but it depends on the series, the condition, and the serial number, in that order. This guide separates the ones genuinely worth selling from the ones you should just bank.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) treats every note and coin it has issued since 1967 as legal tender. That covers all four note families: the Orchid Series, the Bird Series, the Ship Series, and the current Portrait Series. A discontinued $1,000 Portrait note or a 1980s Ship Series $10 has the same spending power as a fresh note from an ATM.
So if you are sitting on a pile of old fifties and hundreds, the default move is simple: deposit them at your bank. They credit the face value into your account once they verify the notes are genuine. No collector drama, no waiting for a buyer.
The interesting question is the exception. A minority of old notes sell above face value to collectors. Whether yours qualifies comes down to three things, and people usually overestimate all three.
Singapore has issued four families of currency notes since independence. Knowing which series you hold tells you roughly how old and how common a note is.
| Series | In circulation | Notable denominations | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchid | 1967 to 1976 | $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $10,000 | Oldest; still legal tender |
| Bird | 1976 to 1984 | $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $10,000 | Legal tender |
| Ship | 1984 to 1999 | $1, $2, $5, $10, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $10,000 | Legal tender |
| Portrait | 1999 to present | $2, $5, $10, $50, $100 (plus discontinued $1,000 and $10,000) | Current series |
The Orchid Series ran from 1967 to 1976 and is the oldest. One note stands out: the $25, issued on 7 August 1972 and withdrawn from circulation in 1979. It is the only $25 note Singapore has ever circulated, and the Bird Series that followed replaced it with a $20 note. That short run and unusual denomination make it the one Orchid note collectors actively hunt. Asking prices for circulated examples on Singapore marketplaces commonly run from tens of dollars to a few hundred, depending on condition and serial number; clean, high-grade pieces are listed higher. Treat these as listings rather than guaranteed sale prices.
The Portrait Series launched on 9 September 1999 and is the notes in your wallet today. It deliberately skipped the $1 and $500 denominations, which is why no $1 note has been printed in decades even though older $1 notes remain legal tender. The $2, $5 and $10 are polymer (the plastic-feeling notes); the $50 and $100 are paper. The $1,000 and $10,000 also belonged to this series but are being phased out, which matters for value.
MAS announced on 2 July 2014 that it would stop issuing the $10,000 note from 1 October 2014, to reduce money-laundering risk. The $1,000 Portrait note followed: MAS announced on 3 November 2020 that it would stop issuing it from 1 January 2021, again to pre-empt the money-laundering and terrorism-financing risks that large-denomination notes carry.
Both remain legal tender. A $10,000 note is still worth exactly $10,000, and you can deposit it at a bank. Because so few were ever in public hands, high-denomination notes in pristine condition occasionally trade slightly above face value to collectors. But the premium is thin relative to the amount of cash tied up, and you take on storage and authentication risk holding physical notes that large. For most people, banking them is the sensible call.
If you are weighing whether to keep cash sitting in old notes or put it to work, the compound interest calculator makes the opportunity cost obvious. A $1,000 note hidden in a drawer earns nothing while inflation chips at it.
Here is the reality check the auction listings reveal. Asking prices on marketplaces look exciting, but they are asking prices, not confirmed sales, and the biggest jumps come from running sets in mint condition, not single circulated notes. The examples below are real listing patterns from Singapore marketplaces; treat them as a ceiling, not a guarantee.
| Note | Face value | Typical listing | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchid $1, set of 20 running | $20 | around $338 | very high |
| Bird $1, 3 pieces running | $3 | around $90 | very high |
| Bird $20 | $20 | around $60 | high |
| Ship $10 | $10 | around $18 | modest |
| Ship $500 | $500 | around $525 | thin |
| Bird $1,000 | $1,000 | around $1,150 | thin |
Before you list anything, run through this checklist. Most notes fail it, which is fine: failing it just means you bank the note at face value.
There is no official MAS buy-back above face value; the collector market is private. The realistic channels are local marketplaces and dealers.
If your notes are common, or you simply want the cash, redeeming is straightforward. You do not need to go to MAS for ordinary notes.
Take current or past-series notes to a commercial bank where you hold an account. The bank verifies they are genuine and credits the face value into your account. This covers the everyday Orchid, Bird, Ship and Portrait notes that are not collectible.
Under the Currency Act a mutilated note carries no automatic value, but MAS states it may, out of goodwill and at its absolute discretion, award value for one, provided there is no evidence it was wilfully or deliberately damaged. MAS does not publish a fixed fraction; the commonly cited rule of thumb among collectors is that you generally need roughly two-thirds of a note present to have a good chance of full face value, but the assessment is case by case. Take damaged notes to a commercial bank where you have an account; the bank authenticates and assesses them and credits any value awarded. If a note is too far gone or looks wilfully torn, you may get nothing, so do not test it on purpose.
Coins follow the same logic. If you have a jar of loose change rather than notes, our guide to converting coins into notes covers the cheapest ways to turn them into spendable money.
Under the Brunei-Singapore currency interchangeability agreement in place since 1967, the Brunei dollar and Singapore dollar trade at par (B$1 = S$1). Brunei notes are accepted in Singapore as customary tender, so a shop can take them but is not legally required to. If a retailer declines, any commercial bank will exchange Brunei currency at par without charge.
Coins follow almost the same rules as notes. Singapore has minted three circulation coin series, and every one of them is still legal tender, so a 1968 cent and a 2013 dollar both spend at face value. None have been demonetised, which means there is no deadline to use or swap them.
The everyday circulation coins in a coin jar are worth their face value and very little more. The premium, where it exists, sits with early First Series pieces in mint condition, scarce mint years, error strikes, and the silver and gold commemorative coins sold by the Singapore Mint rather than the loose change you actually spent.
If your jar is mostly ordinary coins, the goal is simply turning them into spendable money without paying a deposit fee. Our guide to converting coins into notes covers the cheapest ways to do that.
| Series | In circulation | Denominations | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 1967 to 1985 | 1c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 | Legal tender; not demonetised |
| Second | 1985 to 2013 | 1c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 | Legal tender; not demonetised |
| Third | 2013 to present | 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 | Current series |
The collectible coins minted for events, anniversaries and the zodiac are sold by the Singapore Mint above face value from the start, often struck in silver or gold. MAS lists six things that set their market value: condition, theme, rarity, uniqueness of design, collector demand and supply, and, for coins, the metal composition. Precious-metal pieces also carry the value of the silver or gold inside them, which moves with the bullion price.
MAS is clear that there is no guarantee these appreciate or resell at what you paid, and as the currency issuer it does not take part in the secondary market. To gauge what a piece is actually worth, you approach banknote and coin dealers or the Singapore Mint, the same places that authenticate and buy. Whatever the collector market does, the face value is always redeemable: a commemorative coin or note can be banked or redeemed at MAS for the figure printed on it.
One important line to draw: the four MAS series are legal tender, but the currency that circulated here before them is not. Two types turn up in old family tins and they behave completely differently from a Bird Series fifty.
Japanese occupation notes, the wartime currency nicknamed banana money for the banana tree on the larger notes, were issued from 1942 to 1945 and became worthless the moment the war ended. They have no legal tender value and no bank will credit them. Any value is purely historical, and prices are low because the Japanese printed them in enormous quantities with no serial numbers on the higher denominations.
Malaya and British Borneo dollar notes, used here before the Orchid Series, were demonetised after Singapore issued its own currency. A bank will not exchange them either. Genuine examples in good condition do interest collectors, with the Queen Elizabeth II portrait issues being the ones people look for, but you are selling them as antiques on the collector market, not redeeming them. Verify authenticity before paying real money for any of these, because reproductions are common.
No, not as a core strategy. The notes that command real premiums are specific, scarce and condition-dependent, and you cannot buy them at face value today. Cash held as physical notes earns nothing and loses purchasing power to Singapore's inflation rate every year, so the opportunity cost compounds quietly against you.
Collecting old Singapore notes is a fine hobby if you enjoy the history and buy carefully on condition. Treat it as that, not as a retirement plan. If your actual goal is to grow money, the same dollars do far more in a high-yield savings account or invested through a simple diversified portfolio. Sentimental value is real and worth keeping a note or two for. Just do not confuse it with financial return.
Yes. Every note and coin MAS has issued since 1967 is legal tender, including all Orchid, Bird, Ship and Portrait series notes, and the discontinued $1,000 and $10,000 notes. You can spend them or deposit them at a bank for face value.
Most are not. The majority are worth exactly their face value. A minority sell above face to collectors, driven by rarity, condition and serial number. Folded or stained common notes rarely fetch a meaningful premium.
Among circulation notes, the Orchid Series $25 (issued 7 August 1972) is a standout because it is the only $25 note Singapore ever circulated. Running sets and notes with special serial numbers in mint condition also command the highest premiums.
Carousell and Shopee for the local market, specialist banknote dealers for high-value pieces, and eBay for a wider audience. There is no official buy-back above face value; the collector market is private.
Yes. MAS stopped issuing the $10,000 note from October 2014 and the $1,000 note from January 2021, but both remain legal tender. You can deposit them at your bank, which credits the full face value.
Take them to a commercial bank where you have an account. MAS states it may award value out of goodwill, at its absolute discretion, if the note was not wilfully or deliberately damaged; there is no published fixed fraction, though a commonly cited rule of thumb is that you generally need roughly two-thirds of the note intact for a good chance of full face value. The bank authenticates and assesses the note and credits any value awarded.
Yes, at par (B$1 = S$1) as customary tender under the long-standing interchangeability agreement. Shops can accept them but are not obliged to; banks will exchange Brunei currency at par without charge.
All three Singapore circulation coin series, from 1967 onwards, remain legal tender and have not been demonetised, so ordinary coins are worth face value. A premium only attaches to early First Series coins in mint condition, scarce years, error strikes, and the silver and gold commemorative coins sold by the Singapore Mint. Everyday change from a coin jar is worth what it says.
Not as currency. Banana money, the Japanese occupation notes of 1942 to 1945, lost all value when the war ended and is not legal tender, so no bank will exchange it. It was printed in huge quantities, so most pieces sell for very little even to collectors. Any value is historical, not monetary.
The Singapore Mint, along with banknote and coin dealers, is a place MAS points you to for valuing commemorative and numismatic currency, and dealers like these are where authentication and buying happen. MAS itself does not take part in the secondary market. Whatever a dealer offers, the face value of any genuine note or coin is always redeemable at a bank or MAS.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.