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Banknotes

$2 Note with One House

In early 2019, a small number of $2 banknotes with one house below the word ‘Education’ (on the reverse side) started to surface. The serial number of these Portrait Series banknotes start with the digit ‘7’, which may mean that serial numbers starting with the digit ‘6’ will finally come to an end. 

This comes after a total of 362 prefixes (beginning with the digit ‘6’) and five symbols worth of banknotes were put into circulation since 2016. The symbols were one star, two stars, three stars, one hollow star and two hollow stars. 

In 2016, the first prefixes beginning with ‘6’ were 6NA to 6QJ (one hollow star). This was followed by 6AA to 6CM (one star) and 6QK to 6SV (two hollow stars) in 2017. 

In 2018, prefixes 6CN to 6HM (two stars) were introduced, alongside 6AA to 6CM (two stars). A limited number of 6FA 51xxxx to 6HM 51xxxx (three stars) were also observed in early 2018. At some point during the same year, prefixes 6SW to 6TB (two hollow stars) were also observed. 

The remaining serial numbers for 6FA to 6HM (three stars) were released in 2019, together with new prefixes 6HN to 6KZ (three stars). 

New symbols on the reverse of the banknotes are typically observed at the start of the year, around two to three weeks before Chinese New Year. 

Among the various denominations of Singapore banknotes, the $2 banknote is one of the most widely and frequently circulated. Perhaps this is the reason why the $2 denomination is the first to get a prefix starting with the digit ‘7’. 

As of November 2019, very few pieces of $2 banknotes with one house have been observed. But it is just a matter of time before these notes are eventually put into circulation, so remember to keep a lookout for them. 

One House Symbol on $10 Notes

The house symbol is not entirely new, as it has previously appeared on the $10 note with prefixes 5EA to 5FW (one house), 5FX to 5HT (two houses). Hollow house symbols have also been observed on the $10 denomination: 5NA to 5QH (one hollow house), 5QJ to 5SU (two hollow houses). That was the first time for a hollow symbol to appear. The latest symbol on the $10 note is one inverted triangle, with serial numbers starting with ‘6’. 

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Banknotes

New Prefixes for Singapore Bicentennial $20 Note

AF, AG, AH and AJ. These are the four new prefixes that have appeared on the second batch of $20 commemorative banknotes to celebrate the Singapore Bicentennial, which was issued on 4 November 2019.

Singapore Bicentennial $20 Last Prefix AJ
Last Prefix for Singapore Bicentennial $20 Note: AJ

The initial batch of $20 Singapore Bicentennial banknotes also came with four different prefixes: AB, AC, AD and AE.

Banknotes found on the uncut sheet of 3 bear the AA prefix, with serial numbers ranging from AA 801xxx to AA 832xxx. A total of 5000 such uncut sheets were produced.

No Symbol on Reverse

Banknotes from the second printing do not come with any special symbol printed on the reverse. Since 2009, MAS has used symbols to indicate the printing batch for the Portrait Series, as well as the SG50 commemorative issue.

The symbols include squares, triangles, diamonds, stars, houses and inverted triangles – either single, double or triple. Symbols can also have a solid colour, or appear as a hollow outline.

Limited Demand for Limited Edition?

According to a press release by MAS, applicants for the second batch were allocated the full number of banknotes which they have asked for. There were more than 200,000 applications for around 1.8 million banknotes. In other words, around 0.2 million banknotes from the second print run have not been allocated yet.

MAS has previously mentioned that notes which are left over after 18 November 2019 will be made available to the public for exchange. So keep a look out if you’ve missed your chance during the online application phase, or if you want to get hold of more.

Related Questions

How many Singapore Bicentennial $20 notes are there? MAS issued a total of 4 million banknotes in two separate batches. Initially, 2 million banknotes were put into circulation in June 2019. This was followed by another 2 million in November 2019 to meet popular demand.

What is the first prefix for the Singapore Bicentennial $20 notes? For the first batch of 2 million circulation banknotes, AB is considered as the first prefix. AF is unofficially the first prefix for the second batch.

What is the last prefix for the Singapore Bicentennial $20 notes? Strictly speaking, AJ is the last prefix for the Singapore Bicentennial commemorative banknotes. Since AE used to be the last prefix before the additional print run, it can still be considered as the last prefix for the first print run of 2 million notes.