Modern coinage of Brunei

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Map of South-East Asia.

Map of Brunei.

From Wikipedia:

Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo; the remainder of Borneo's territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 423,196 in 2016. Its official languages are Malay and English. Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital of Brunei

At the peak of the Bruneian Empire, Sultan Bolkiah (reigned 1485–1528) is alleged to have had control over most regions of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu Archipelago off the northeast tip of Borneo, Seludong (modern-day Manila), and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The maritime state was visited by Spain's Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in the 1578 Castilian War.

During the 19th century the Bruneian Empire began to decline. The Sultanate ceded Sarawak (Kuching) to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906. After the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new constitution was written. In 1962 a small armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the help of the British.

Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984. Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has developed wealth from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields. Brunei has the second-highest Human Development Index among the Southeast Asian nations, after Singapore, and is classified as a "developed country". According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity.

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National emblem of Brunei.

From Wikipedia:

The national emblem of Brunei was adopted in 1940. There are five main components to the national emblem (crest): the flag, the royal parasol (ceremonial umbrella), the wings, the hands, and the crescent.

Below the crescent is a banner; both are inscribed with yellow lettering in Arabic:

On the crescent, Brunei's national motto: "Always render service with God's guidance" (الدائمون المحسنون بالهدى‎).

On the banner (scroll), the state's name: Brunei Darussalam (بروني دارالسلام‎), literally "Brunei, the Abode of Peace".

All elements on the crest are red. On some versions they have black outlines; others have colourless outlines.

1. The small swallowtail flag and parasol (payung ubor-ubor), regalia of the sultanate's monarchy, have been the royal insignia since the creation of the emblem.

2. The wings symbolise protection of justice, tranquility, prosperity and peace.

3. Below these is the crescent, a symbol of Islam, the state religion of Brunei.

4. On the sides, the upturned hands indicate the government's duty is to preserve and promote the welfare of the citizens and to protect the people.

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National flag of Brunei.

From Wikipedia:

The national emblem of Brunei is featured prominently on the flag of Brunei, on a yellow field cut by black and white diagonal stripes (parallelograms at an angle). The yellow field represents the sultan of Brunei.

In Southeast Asia, yellow is traditionally the color of royalty.The black and white stripes represent Brunei's chief ministers, who were once joint-regents and then – after the sultan came of age – senior advisors: the Pengiran Bendahara (First Minister, symbolised by a slightly thicker white stripe) and the Pengiran Pemancha (Second Minister, governing foreign affairs, symbolised by black), with the white stripe being roughly 12% wider than the black one.

The flag in its present form, except for the crest, has been in use since 1906 when Brunei became a British protectorate, following the signing of an agreement between Brunei and Great Britain. Even though Brunei was only nominally independent after this, Bruneians retained certain symbols, like the flag. The crest was superimposed after the promulgation of the Constitution of 29 September 1959. The design was retained when the country gained full independence on 1 January 1984 as Brunei Darussalam.

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THE BRUNEI DOLLAR

From Wikipedia:

As a protectorate of Britain in the early 20th century, Brunei used the Straits dollar from 1906, the Malayan dollar from 1939 and the Malaya and British Borneo dollar from 1953 until 1967, when it began issuing its own currency.

The Brunei dollar replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar in 1967 after the formation of Malaysia and the independence of Singapore. The Brunei dollar (Malay: ringgit Brunei, currency code: BND) is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 sen (Malay) or cents (English). Until 23 June 1973, the Malaysian ringgit was exchangeable at par with the Singapore dollar and Brunei dollar. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Brunei Currency and Monetary Board still maintain the exchangeability of their two currencies. The dollar is accepted as "customary tender" in Singapore according to the Currency Interchangeability Agreement, although it is not legal tender there.

In 1967 coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents. Except for the bronze 1 cent, the coins were struck in copper-nickel.

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Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the Sultan of Brunei.

The coinage was minted by the Royal Mint (UK).

Christopher Ironside designed the portrait of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the Sultan of Brunei.

It appeared on the obverse of the coins in 1967 only.

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Brunei's coins of 1967.

Above you see the reverse designs of the coinage. These were also designed by Christopher Ironside.

Schön describes the designs as:

1  sen.  Ornamental flower
5  sen.  Ornamental bird
10 sen.  Ornamental animal
20 sen.  Ornamental tree.
50 sen.  National emblem.

 
Royal Mint documents simply describe them as traditional motifs.

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Arnold Machin's portrait of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

In 1968 Royal Mint artist Arnold Machin produced a portrait of the new Sultan.

This appeared on the coinage from 1968 onward. The reverse designs were left unchanged.

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Brunei, 1 ringgit, 1970.

In 1970 Brunei issued a 1 ringgit coin.

This first ringgit coin was a collector coin only.

However, it was later introduced as a circulation coin in 1977.

The coin was minted by the Royal Mint (UK).

The reverse design was the work of Christopher Ironside. It shows a miniature cannon.

Such cannons were once used as money in Brunei in the nineteenth century.

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Brunei, obverse, 1977.

Since 1968 the sultan's title on the coins had included the Roman numeral 'I'.

This meant that he was the first sultan of Brunei to bear his name.

That practice continued into 1977.


However, from late in 1977 onward, the numeral "I" was excluded from his title.

Two slightly different circulation sets were therefore issued in 1977.

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Brunei: new royal effigy of 1993.

In 1992 various commemorative coins were issued.

They showed a new mature portrait of the sultan.


His title was now shown as "SULTAN HAJI HASSANAL BOLKIAH".

From 1993 this new portrait was also used on the obverse of the circulation coins.

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Brunei, 1 sen, 2013.

From 2008 the 1 sen coin was minted in brass-plated steel.

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Brunei: new royal effigy of 2017.

In 2017 Brunei issued a special one-year set of circulation coins.

It celebrated the Sultan's golden jubilee: the 50th anniversary of his accession to the throne.

A new portrait of the Sultan appeared on the obverse of the coins.

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Here you see the 2017 set.

1 sen.    Royal umbrella with dangling ornaments.

5 sen.    Traditional musical drum. 

10 sen.  Flower vase with roses.

20 sen.  Silver container for holding drinking water.

50 sen.  Royal crown.

[malawi]

the 2017 set is minted for circulation , or only for collectors ?

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the 2017 set is minted for circulation , or only for collectors ?

Here I quote myself. Please read carefully.

In 2017 Brunei issued a special one-year set of circulation coins to celebrate the Sultan's golden jubilee: the 50th anniversary of his accession to the throne.

Circulation coins do circulate. Collector-only coins do not.