Brunei dollar

"B$" redirects here. For the Bahamian currency, see Bahamian dollar.

The Brunei dollar (sign: B$, Malay: ringgit Brunei, currency code: BND), has been the currency of the Sultanate of Brunei since 1967. It 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). The Brunei dollar is issued by the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam).

Brunei dollar

ringgit Brunei (Malay) ريڠڬيت بروني (Jawi)
New 1 dollar polymer note (2011) New 5 dollar polymer note (2011)
ISO 4217
Code	BND (numeric: 096)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Symbol	$, B$‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	sen
Banknotes
Freq. used	$1, $5, $10, $50, $100
Rarely used	$20, $25, $500, $1000 and $10,000
Coins
Freq. used	5, 10, 20, 50 sen
Rarely used	1 sen
Demographics
User(s)	Brunei  Singapore
Issuance
Central bank	Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam)
Website	bdcb.gov.bn
Valuation
Inflation	0.2% as of 2017^[1]
Pegged with	Singapore dollar at par

Under a Currency Interchangeability Agreement in 1967, the Brunei dollar is interchangeable with the Singapore dollar at par. As such, the Brunei dollar is accepted in Singapore as "customary tender"; likewise, the Singapore dollar is accepted in Brunei.^[2]

History

Main article: Brunei pitis

Early currency in Brunei included cowrie shells. Brunei is also famous for its bronze teapots, which were used as currency in barter trade along the coast of northern Borneo. The Spanish-American silver dollar brought over by the Manila galleons was in wide use for Brunei's international trade from the 16th to 19th centuries; the 19th century Straits dollar was itself derived from the same coin.

Brunei issued tin coins denominated in pitis in AH1285 (AD1868). These were followed by a one cent coin in AH1304 (AD1888). This cent was one hundredth of a Straits dollar.

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. 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 (now the Authoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam) still maintain the exchangeability of their two currencies. The dollar is accepted as "customary tender" in Singapore according to the Currency Interchangeability Agreement,^[2] although it is not legal tender there.

History of coins used in Brunei

Coins were used in Brunei from the 10th century. The Straits dollar was also used in Brunei from 1906.

Due to the close ties between China and Brunei, the first type of coins used in Brunei were Chinese coins. This was initially called ‘Pitis’. They were later known as ‘Kue’ when local ‘Pitis’ were introduced.^[3][4] The local ‘Pitis’ coins had ‘Sultanate of Brunei’ stamped in front of the coin and the royal umbrella was imprinted at the back. These were issued from the 16th to the 19th century. Previous Islamic coins were also called the ‘Pitis’.^[5] Another type of coin that was used in Brunei were ‘Duit besi’ (which roughly translates to ‘Iron money’). Iron was considered valuable those days that it was used as money. 100 one-square inch pieces were valued at 1 dollar.^[4]

The last coin to be issued before the introduction of the Straits Settlements currency was the ‘Duit Bintang’, otherwise known as the ‘Star coin’ or the 'Star Cent'.^[3] It is called the Star coin because of the star imprinted on the obverse of the coin. It was minted in Birmingham, England, in 1887.^[3] It was made from copper.

With the introduction of the Straits Settlements currency, the previously used coins were taken out of circulation. They were, however still used with certain exchange rates.^[4]

History of banknotes used in Brunei

 

One Straits dollar banknote from 1935

The Straits dollar was introduced in Brunei in 1906. It was later replaced by the Malayan dollar which was introduced to British colonies and Brunei in 1939. It replaced the Straits dollar at par with a 1:1 exchange rate. The Malayan dollar was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency in Malaya. The board stopped issuing the Malayan dollar during the Japanese invasion during World War II. The Malayan dollar had the portrait of King George VI in front of the note.^[3]

In 1952, the board was renamed the Board of Commissioners of Malaya and British Borneo. The board then began to issue notes to Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo, and Brunei in 1953. This was known as the Malaya and British Borneo dollar.^[3] In 1967, the Malaya and British Borneo dollar was replaced by three new currencies: the Malaysian dollar, Singapore dollar and the Brunei dollar, all at par.^[6] The Interchangeability Agreement which the three countries adhered to as original members of the currency union meant the Brunei dollar was exchangeable at par with the Singapore dollar and Malaysian dollar. This ended on 8 May 1973, when the Malaysian government withdrew from the agreement.^[7]

The Singapore dollar is still interchangeable with the Brunei dollar today.^[5]

Coins

Main article: Coins of the Brunei dollar

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 cupro-nickel. In 1986, copper-clad steel replaced bronze.^[8] Later, in 2008, the 1 cent coins switched compositions to brass.

Banknotes

On 12 June 1967,^[9] the government (Kerajaan Brunei) introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 dollars. Notes for 500 and 1,000 dollars followed in 1979. In 1989, the title on the paper money was changed to Negara Brunei Darussalam, the official name of the country, and the Malay term for “State of Brunei, Abode of Peace.” 10,000 dollar notes were introduced the same year. All notes bear the denomination in Malay (in both Rumi and Jawi) and in English. The English denomination appeared on the obverse below the denomination in Malay on the earlier series, but now appears on the reverse together with the Jawi.

Five series of notes have been issued. The colours of $1, $5, and $10 notes have been the same for all the series of banknotes.

1967 series

First series (1967) – currency with the portrait of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III, the 28th ruler of Brunei.

• $1 – blue
• $5 – green
• $10 – red
• $50 – brown
• $100 – purple

1972 series

Second series – This series was the same as the first series with exception that the portrait of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin was replaced by the portrait of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th and current ruler of Brunei. All subsequent currency has the portrait of Hassanal Bolkiah. In addition, two new higher denominations were issued in 1979.

• $1 ~ $100 like 1967 series
• $500 – pink
• $1,000 – yellow

1989 series

Third series – the post independence series. This series was gradually being replaced by the fourth series.

• $1 – blue
• $5 – green
• $10 – red
• $50 – brown, green, orange
• $100 – purple
• $500 – orange
• $1,000 – red-violet, purple, olive
• $10,000 – green, orange

1996–2000 polymer and paper series

Fourth Series (1996–2000) all notes except for the polymer issues are no longer printed.

1996 Polymer and Paper Notes
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of issue	Material
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Window / Watermark
		$1	141 x 69 mm	Blue	Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah	Rainforest Waterfall	Coat of Arms of Brunei (Transparent window)	1996	Polymer
		$5		Green		Rainforest Floor
		$10		Red		Rainforest Canopy
		$50	158 x 75 mm	Brown, Green and Blue		Oil Rig	Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Watermark)	1996	Paper
		$100		Brown, Orange		Brunei International Airport
		$500	175 x 81 mm	Orange		Royal Regalia Building		2000
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

2004–2007 (polymer) series

Polymer banknotes were introduced in (2004) due to high cases of banknote forgery. All of them are polymer. The $100 note of this series has won a gold medal award for its security features in the 22nd National Print Award in Australia in May 2005.^[10]

2004–2007 Polymer Notes
Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of
			Obverse	Reverse	Transparent Window	printing	issue
$50	158 x 75 mm	Light Blue and Bronze	Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah	Rainforest Bushes	Various different flora of Brunei	15 July 2004 Hassanal Bolkiah's 58th birthday
$100		Brown and orange		Chermin Island
$500	175 x 81 mm	Pink	Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III (1914–1986)	The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation Building (Yayasan)		2006	28 December 2006
$1,000	182 x 84 mm	Grey and Brown	Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah	The Ministry of Finance Building in Bandar Seri Begawan			21 June 2007
$10,000	180 x 90 mm	Gold and Green		The Legislative Council (Parliament) Building in Bandar Seri Begawan			28 December 2006
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

 

B$10,000 note

The S$10,000 and B$10,000 notes are the world's most valuable banknotes, worth US$8000 as of September 2014 (that are officially in circulation).^[11][12] They are worth eight times as much as the next most valuable, the 1,000 Swiss franc note (US$1,063). From 6 November 2020, AMBD has announced it will stop printing B$10,000 notes to reduce the risk of money laundering. Brunei has also stopped the issuance of B$10,000 and is in the process of withdrawing it from active circulation.^[13][14]

2011 polymer series

2004–2007 Polymer Notes
Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of
			Obverse	Reverse	Transparent Window	printing	issue
$1		blue	Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah		Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque and the ceremonial barge	2011
$5		green and yellow
$10		red, yellow and brown
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

• $1 – blue (2011)^[15]
• $5 – green and yellow (2011)^[16]
• $10 – red, yellow and brown (2011)^[17]

To commemorate the 65th birthday of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.^[18] Shortly after the notes were issued, the Braille dots on the upper left front corner of the new polymer notes are not raised. The Braille dots cannot be felt tactilely, and they are not accurately rendered as Braille numbers corresponding to the denominations. Specifically, the spacing of the dots is wrong, and they lack the lead-in character that indicates that numbers follow.^[19][20]

Commemorative banknotes

• $25 – purple and beige (1992)

This was issued during the silver jubilee (25th anniversary) of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah acceding to the throne. The design is of the 1989 series of currency.

• $20 – yellow (polymer, 2007)

On 27 June 2007, Singapore and Brunei celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement (since 12 June 1967) by joint-issuing commemorative $20 notes.^[21]

The two authorities issue distinct versions of the new $20 notes. They are both yellow, 149 × 72 mm in size, and made of polymer. The reverses are almost identical except that the Brunei version has their state title in Jawi script, while the has the state title of Brunei in Latin script.^[22] The obverse of the Singaporean version is similar to the current Portrait Series, whereas the obverse of the Brunei version is similar to the $50 and $100 of the 2004 series.

There is a limited edition set, which consists of both versions in a folder, with matching serial number. The notes have "40th Anniversary Currency Interchangeability Agreement" overprinted on obverse. In addition, the Singaporean version has the two countries' state crests above the commemorative text. Only 12,000 sets are available, 10,000 from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and 2,000 from the Brunei Currency and Monetary Board.^[22]

The circulation version has been available since 16 July 2007.^[23]

• $50 - yellow (polymer, 2017)

In 2017, both Brunei and Singapore issued $50 polymer banknotes in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of its Currency Interchangeability Agreement.^[24]

• $50 - yellow (polymer, 2017)

In 2017, the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam issued a $50 polymer banknote, alongside a 50 cent coin, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sultan Hassan al-Bolkiah's accession to the throne. On the front it depicts the monarch's coronation alongside a portrait of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. One notable security feature of the note is the use of an optically variable ink called "spark live" ^[25]

Current BND exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD IDR MYR
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD IDR MYR
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD IDR MYR
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD IDR MYR

See also

• Economy of Brunei
• Brunei pitis

References

1. "Brunei". Central Intelligence Agency. 1 July 2022. from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
2. Monetary Authority of Singapore. . Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
3. . Brunei Times. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
4. . Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
5. Basic Commerce for Brunei Darussalam. p. 23.
6. Basic Commerce for Brunei Darussalam. p. 22.
7. . Monetary Authority of Singapore. 9 April 2007. Archived from the original on 2 February 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2008. Official Currencies of The Straits Settlements (1826-1939); Currencies of the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya (1939-1951); Currencies of the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo (1952-1957); Currencies of the Independent Malaya (1957-1963); On 12 June 1967, the currency union which had been operating for 29 years came to an end, and the three participating countries, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei each issued its own currency. The currencies of the 3 countries were interchangeable at par value under the Interchangeability Agreement until 8 May 1973 when the Malaysian government decided to terminate it. Brunei and Singapore however continue with the Agreement until the present day.
8. Ministry of Finance 15 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
9. Linzmayer, Owen (2011). "Brunei". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com. from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
10. The Brunei Times (28 December 2006). . Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
11. . Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
12. Detrixhe, John (1 June 2018). "The most valuable banknote in circulation is worth about as much as a bitcoin". Quartz. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
13. . The Edge Markets. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
14. "Brunei to cease issuing, circulation of biggest currency notes – Xinhua". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
15. A poster released by the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam) that explains the security features on the 1 ringgit/dollar polymer banknote 20 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
16. A poster released by the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam) that explains the security features on the 5 ringgit/dollar polymer banknote 21 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
17. A poster released by the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam) that explains the security features on the 10 ringgit/dollar polymer banknote 21 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
18. Brunei new 1-, 5-, and 10-dollar notes confirmed 17 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
19. Brunei's new notes contain Braille blunder 17 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
20. . Brunei Times. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
21. Monetary Authority of Singapore (27 June 2007). . Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
22. Monetary Authority of Singapore (27 June 2007). (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
23. Monetary Authority of Singapore (27 June 2007). . Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
24. Currency Interchangeability Agreement between Brunei Darussalam and Singapore 5 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine Monetary Authority of Singapore (www.mas.gov.sg). Retrieved on 2017-07-06.
25. Bakar, Rasidah Hj Abu (4 October 2017). "AMBD unveils Golden Jubilee commemorative notes and coins". The Scoop. Retrieved 17 July 2022.

External links

 

Wikinews has related news:

• Singapore and Brunei issue joint banknote

• Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam)

Preceded by: Malaya and British Borneo dollar Reason: Currency Agreement Ratio: at par, or 60 dollars = 7 British pounds

Currency of Brunei, Singapore 1967 – Concurrent with: Singapore dollar

Succeeded by: Current