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10 Dollars 1976, Singapore

in Krause book Number: 11a
Years of issue: 06.08.1979 - 1980
Edition: 84 400 000
Signatures: Minister for finance: Mr. Hon Sui Sen
Serie: 2nd Series - Bird Series (1976–1984)
Specimen of: 06.08.1976
Material: Cotton fiber
Size (mm): 141 x 69
Printer: TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London

* All pictures marked magnify are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.

** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.

10 Dollars 1976

Description

Watermark:

watermark

Head of the lion.

When it was first unveiled, some sections of the public felt that it should have been facing rightwards to represent a more forward looking nature. However, the original left-facing lion was maintained.

Avers:

10 Dollars 1976

Todiramphus chloris

On the left side is the Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris). It is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the family Halcyonidae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the White-collared Kingfisher or Mangrove Kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia and Australasia to Polynesia.

The collared kingfisher is 22 to 29 cm. (8.7 to 11.4 in.) long and weighs 51 to 90 g (1.8 to 3.2 oz). It varies from blue to green above while the underparts can be white or buff. There is a white collar around the neck, giving the birds its name. Some races have a white or buff stripe over the eye while others have a white spot between the eye and bill. There may be a black stripe through the eye. The large bill is black with a pale yellow base to the lower mandible.

Females tend to be greener than the males. Immature birds are duller than the adults with dark scaly markings on the neck and breast.

It has a variety of calls which vary geographically. The most typical call is loud, harsh and metallic and is repeated several times.

Top right is the coat of arms of Singapore.

coat

The National Coat of Arms of Singapore is the heraldic symbol representing the Southeast Asian island nation of Singapore. It was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. The committee that created it, headed by then Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye, was also responsible for the national flag and the national anthem of Singapore.

At the center of the emblem is a red shield bearing a white crescent (a new moon, representing a rising young nation) and five white stars (representing various national ideals including multiculturalism), supported by a lion and a tiger (representing Singapore and Malaysia respectively); below them is a blue ribbon inscribed with Majulah Singapura in gold, Malay for "Onward Singapore".

The central emblem of the coat of arms is a red shield with five white stars resting above a white crescent, similar to the crescent and stars used on the Singapore flag and such other national symbols as the national ensign for civilian ships. Red symbolizes "universal brotherhood and equality of man" and white "pervading and everlasting purity and virtue". The crescent represents a new moon, which reflects "a young nation on the ascendant", while the five-pointed stars "stand for the nation's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality".

The supporters of the shield are a lion and a tiger: the tiger symbolizes the nation's historical connections to Malaysia (which Singapore was a state of from 1963 to 1965) while the lion represents Singapore itself. Below the supporters is a blue ribbon on which the national motto, Majulah Singapura, is written in gold. Majulah Singapura is also the title of the national anthem; it means "Onward Singapore" in Malay, the national language of Singapore.

Lower is business center of Singapore.

Merlion

Nearby is the Merlion (Singa-Laut). It is a marketing icon with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name - Singapura - meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".

The symbol was designed by Alec Fraser-Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in use from 26 March 1964 to 1997 and has been its trademarked symbol since 20 July 1966. Although the STB changed their logo in 1997, the STB Act continues to protect the Merlion symbol. Approval must be received from STB before it can be used. The Merlion appears frequently on STB-approved souvenirs.

The merlion is a statue with the body of a fish and the head of a lion- occurs in a number of different artistic traditions. Lions with fishtails can be found on Indian murals at Ajanta and Mathura, and on Etruscan coins of the Hellenistic period. Merlions, or "heraldic sea-lions", are an established element of Western heraldry, and have been used on the coat of arms of the cities of Portsmouth and Great Yarmouth in the United Kingdom; the City of Manila; and the East India Company.

Denomination in numerals are in top left and lower right corners, in words centered.

Revers:

10 Dollars 1976

Garden city Garden city

Garden city Singapore, residential high-rises in the background.

Over 5.5 million people live in Singapore in an area of just 720 square kilometers. Yet, it is considered one of the world’s more livable cities. This is due to many factors, but it is its greenery that most distinguishes the city-state from other densely populated cities.

Roadside greenery, the backbone of Singapore’s vision of a “city in a garden,” forms a pervasive green matrix, together with ample parks, nature areas, community gardens and skyrise or high-rise greenery.

Over the span of 2 decades from the mid-1980s, Singapore’s population grew 1.7 times, and its economy, 6.6 times. Yet, the proportion of green cover, including roadside tree canopies, nature areas and parks, was able to grow more than 1.3 times.

There is a robust ecosystem of government policies and programs together with industry and citizen participation supporting the greening of Singapore. Now that greenery has been mainstreamed, Singapore is focusing on integrating a blue layer into the green matrix to boost its livability to a new level. (development.asia).

Lower left is , again, the Merlion (Singa-Laut).

On the right side is the Chinese lion, as symbol of Singapore.

Denomination in numerals are in top left and lower right corners.

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