1 Singapore Dollar #481

Front

Vanda Miss Joaquim (Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim), Singapore's national flower, depicted at center left. This orchid hybrid was discovered by Agnes Joaquim in her garden in 1893 and became the national flower of Singapore in 1981. The right side shows the Sentosa Satellite Earth Station, a telecommunications facility that symbolized Singapore's modernization and technological advancement in the 1960s and 1970s. The station featured a large parabolic antenna dish used for international satellite communications.

Back

Tropical botanical motif featuring stylized orchids, palm fronds, and other flora native to Singapore, rendered in intricate line work. The text states 'THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND TEN DOLLARS' with 'MP' markings indicating this is actually a Japanese Occupation note from World War II (1942–1945), not the Singapore Orchid series note shown on the front. This is a mismatched pair of images.

History

MISMATCHED PAIR DETECTED. The front image shows a Singapore Orchid series $1 note issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency Singapore between 1967 and 1976, printed by Thomas De La Rue. This was Singapore's first series of currency after independence in 1965. The Orchid series featured various orchid species and scenes of national development. The back image, however, shows a Japanese Occupation $10 note (MP series) issued during World War II (1942–1945) when Singapore was under Japanese control. These are two completely different notes from different periods and issuers. The front note belongs to independent Singapore's first currency series symbolizing the new nation's identity and technological progress. The back note is Japanese military scrip used during wartime occupation. Based on the printer inscription visible on the front ('THOMAS DE LA RUE AND COMPANY LIMITED'), this is definitively from the Orchid series. No visible year is printed on the front, but the series was issued 1967–1976, withdrawn from circulation in stages through the 1980s, and fully demonetized by 1987.