Dates of First Issue
• Not printed on notes
Since independence, the Singapore government has issued four series of banknotes, along with several commemorative notes. The inaugural series was the Orchid series, which was issued in three phases. The familiar denominations already used in colonial times were released first, followed later by less familiar denominations like $25 and $500. The second series was the Bird series, which was issued in five phases, all in February or August over different years. The notes were mostly released in order from the lowest to highest value, except for the $20 note, which came after the $1000. The third series, the Ship series, came out in seven phases, but in a more random order. It started unusually with the $1000 note, followed by other denominations over the next few years.
The final series, the Portrait series, was different—it was the only one where all the notes were released at once, in 1999. This mode of release allowed the government to more easily pick out identical first-prefix and golden-number sets for auction. Besides circulation notes, the government also releases commemorative notes in specific years to mark significant events, such as the 25th anniversary of Singapore’s independence in 1990, the 40th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement with Brunei in 2007, the bicentennial of Singapore in 2019, and more.
Among the four series of circulation notes, the Bird series had the shortest run, lasting only 8 years. The Orchid series lasted slightly longer, for 9 years. The Ship series lasted 15 years from. The Portrait series has been in use for the longest duration—it has been circulating for over 25 years since 1999, and remains in use today. There has been speculation that a new series may be announced by the government soon, but it remains speculation for now.
Orchid series
- 12 June 1967: Orchid $1, $5, $10, $50, $100, $1000
- 7 August 1972: Orchid $25, $500
- 29 January 1973: Orchid $10000
Bird series
- 6 August 1976: Bird $1, $5, $10, $50
- 1 February 1977: Bird $100, $500
- 7 August 1978: Bird $1000
- 6 August 1979: Bird $20
- 1 February 1980: Bird $10000
Ship series
- 22 October 1984: Ship $1000
- 12 January 1987: Ship $1
- 9 March 1987: Ship $50, $100
- 1 March 1988: Ship $10, $500
- 21 August 1989: Ship $5, $10000
- 28 January 1991: Ship $2 (orange)
- 16 December 1991: Ship $2 (purple)
Portrait series
- 9 September 1999: Portrait $2, $5, $10, $50, $100, $1000, $10000
Commemorative series
- 24 July 1990: SG25 commemorative note
- 10 May 1996: MAS25 commemorative note
- 8 December 1999: Millennium $2 commemorative note
- 16 July 2007: CIA40 commemorative note
- 20 August 2015: SG50 $50 and SG50 $10 (5 variants) commemorative notes
- 7 July 2017: CIA50 commemorative note
- 5 June 2019: Bicentennial $20 commemorative note