Lion Head Symbol
Printed on:
• Ship $10000
• Portrait series all denominations
• 1996 MAS25 $25, 2007 CIA40 $20, 2015 SG50 $10, and 2017 CIA50 $50 commemorative notes
The Lion Head symbol was introduced in 1986 as a national symbol to represent our identity. It was created by the Ministry of Information and the Arts (MITA) as an alternative to the full Coat of Arms, which is reserved for official use. The lion represents courage, strength, and excellence, and links back to the legend of Sang Nila Utama, who thought he saw a lion on the island and named it Singapura, or “Lion City.” The design is simple, to make it easy for use by community groups, companies, and events.
The Lion Head symbol first appeared on our banknotes in 1989, with the issue of the Ship $10000 note. Since then, it has appeared on every denomination in the Portrait Series, usually as part of a security feature. On the paper notes, it is one of the several images in the latent image patch, within the security thread, and in the Kinegram foil. It also exists as a perfectly aligned image when the front and back for the note are held against the light. In the polymer version, it appears as a distinct gold patch, and again as a perfectly aligned image on both sides of the note.
The Lion Head symbol has also been included in some commemorative notes. It appeared in the 1996 MAS25 note, again within the Kinegram foil and as a perfectly aligned image front and back. It was included in miniature print within the Millennium logo, which replaced the prefix in the 1999 Millennium $2 note. In the 2007 CIA40 $20 note with Brunei, it was shown on the back and placed beside Singapore’s landmarks. In the 2015 SG50 $10 note, it appeared just like in the Portrait polymer notes—as a gold patch, and as a perfectly aligned image from front to back. In the 2017 CIA50 $50 note with Brunei, it is featured but cannot be seen with the naked eye—it is visible only under ultraviolet light.
To be clear, even though the Lion Head symbol was only officially adopted in 1986, a lion’s head had already appeared on our banknotes before that. It was used as the watermark in all the Orchid, Bird, and Ship series—though the design of the lion varied over time. The watermark of the lion head also appeared in the 1996 MAS25 commemorative note.
