The Malaysian Ringgit’s brief history
February 7, 2014
By: Caitlyn Ng
If you were to open your wallet/purse now and take a look at the money bills that’s inside before handing them over to pay for your food/drinks/clothes/miscellaneous purchases, did you ever stop to think about what’s the story behind them?
I wouldn’t think so, because neither did I!
The least that I’ve ever thought of when looking at those currencies would be: “Oh no, I’ll be overspending again and there goes my monthly budget! I should really be asking for a payraise!” and that’s all there is to it.
However, if now SaveMoney.my has piqued your curiosity and you’d like to find out a little bit more about our currency, then do read on!
The Ringgit’s history
Back in the early years when Malaysia was still largely undiscovered land, the early civilizations exchanged goods by bartering for what they needed. This came to be known as the “barter system” whereby a person traded for goods or services with another person when there is no money involved.
However, this system proved to be fraught with problems due to the indivisibility of larger items and one needing to find the right people who could give you the best goods/services in return for your own goods/services.
Gold, silver and tin ingots (which later on became the first indigenous coins) were used later on; it was a unit of measure that was valuable, durable, easy to store, homogeneous and portable.
From the years 1946 to 1952, the nation used currency that were issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency Malaya. These notes and coins bore the portrait of the British monarch, King George VI.
From 1952, the notes and coins took on the portrait of yet another monarch which is Queen Elizabeth II and were issued in place of the older ones.
When Malaya gained independence in 1957, there were changes to the design of the currency issued in the year 1959 and 1961, with a “fishing boat for the $1″ and a “farmer with buffalo ploughing field for the $10″ respectively.
Finally, in the year 1967, the Malaysian dollar that was issued by the new central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar at par.
It was not until the year 1975 that Malaysia officially adopted the ringgit. The same can be said about the Malaysian coins, which are a part of the national currency.
In the beginning, there were coins issued in the denominations of 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and 50 sen in the year 1967 whereas the RM1 coin (which used the $ symbol and is the thickest and heaviest in the series) was issued in 1971.
However, the RM1 coin is no longer considered legal tender since December 2005 and anyone in possession of the coin would need to exchange them with Bank Negara to the current polymer/paper notes. The withdrawal of the RM1 coins was attributed to the low demand and increasingly unpopular usage for purchases of goods or services.
Now those little bits of coloured paper in your possession that once used to not mean anything except to get you what you need (and what your heart desires, more often than not!). It’s beneficial to a certain extent, isn’t it, when you chance upon more nuggets of knowledge, no matter how small?
Now you can answer those money aficionados with confidence if ever they ask you about our Ringgit!
Caitlyn Ng is an Investigative Journalist of SaveMoney.my, an online consumer advice portal which aims to help Malaysians save money through smart (and most of the time painless) savings in their daily banking, technology, and lifestyle spending habits.
February 7, 2014
Have you ever taken a look at your money bills and wondered what's the story behind them?
By: Caitlyn Ng
If you were to open your wallet/purse now and take a look at the money bills that’s inside before handing them over to pay for your food/drinks/clothes/miscellaneous purchases, did you ever stop to think about what’s the story behind them?
I wouldn’t think so, because neither did I!
The least that I’ve ever thought of when looking at those currencies would be: “Oh no, I’ll be overspending again and there goes my monthly budget! I should really be asking for a payraise!” and that’s all there is to it.
However, if now SaveMoney.my has piqued your curiosity and you’d like to find out a little bit more about our currency, then do read on!
The Ringgit’s history
Back in the early years when Malaysia was still largely undiscovered land, the early civilizations exchanged goods by bartering for what they needed. This came to be known as the “barter system” whereby a person traded for goods or services with another person when there is no money involved.
However, this system proved to be fraught with problems due to the indivisibility of larger items and one needing to find the right people who could give you the best goods/services in return for your own goods/services.
Gold, silver and tin ingots (which later on became the first indigenous coins) were used later on; it was a unit of measure that was valuable, durable, easy to store, homogeneous and portable.
From the years 1946 to 1952, the nation used currency that were issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency Malaya. These notes and coins bore the portrait of the British monarch, King George VI.
From 1952, the notes and coins took on the portrait of yet another monarch which is Queen Elizabeth II and were issued in place of the older ones.
When Malaya gained independence in 1957, there were changes to the design of the currency issued in the year 1959 and 1961, with a “fishing boat for the $1″ and a “farmer with buffalo ploughing field for the $10″ respectively.
Finally, in the year 1967, the Malaysian dollar that was issued by the new central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar at par.
It was not until the year 1975 that Malaysia officially adopted the ringgit. The same can be said about the Malaysian coins, which are a part of the national currency.
In the beginning, there were coins issued in the denominations of 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and 50 sen in the year 1967 whereas the RM1 coin (which used the $ symbol and is the thickest and heaviest in the series) was issued in 1971.
However, the RM1 coin is no longer considered legal tender since December 2005 and anyone in possession of the coin would need to exchange them with Bank Negara to the current polymer/paper notes. The withdrawal of the RM1 coins was attributed to the low demand and increasingly unpopular usage for purchases of goods or services.
Now those little bits of coloured paper in your possession that once used to not mean anything except to get you what you need (and what your heart desires, more often than not!). It’s beneficial to a certain extent, isn’t it, when you chance upon more nuggets of knowledge, no matter how small?
Now you can answer those money aficionados with confidence if ever they ask you about our Ringgit!
Caitlyn Ng is an Investigative Journalist of SaveMoney.my, an online consumer advice portal which aims to help Malaysians save money through smart (and most of the time painless) savings in their daily banking, technology, and lifestyle spending habits.
No comments:
Post a Comment