The
ringgit Brunei (
MalayMalay is a group of languages closely related to each other to the point of mutual intelligibility but that linguists consider to be separate languages. They are grouped into a group called "Local Malay", part of a larger group called "Malayan" within the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the...
) or the
Brunei dollar (
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, currency code:
BND), has been the
currencyIn economics, the term currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example the US dollar, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
of
the Sultanate of BruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
since 1967. It is normally abbreviated with the
dollar signThe dollar sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various dollar and peso units of currency around the world.-Origin:The sign is attested in business correspondence between the British, Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans in the 1770s, as referring to the Spanish-Mexican peso, known as...
$, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other
dollarThe dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, including Australia, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States.-History:...
-dominated currencies, It is divided into 100
sen (Malay) or
cents (English).
The Brunei dollar is
managed togetherA fixed exchange rate, sometimes called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currency's value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold.A fixed exchange rate is usually used to...
with the
Singapore dollarThe dollar is the currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
at a 1:1 ratio by
Monetary Authority of SingaporeThe Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore's central bank. It was set up in 1971 to oversee various monetary functions associated with banking as well as finance...
(MAS). (
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
is one of
BruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
's major trading partners.)
Early currency in Brunei included cowrie shells.
The
ringgit Brunei (
MalayMalay is a group of languages closely related to each other to the point of mutual intelligibility but that linguists consider to be separate languages. They are grouped into a group called "Local Malay", part of a larger group called "Malayan" within the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the...
) or the
Brunei dollar (
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, currency code:
BND), has been the
currencyIn economics, the term currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example the US dollar, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
of
the Sultanate of BruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
since 1967. It is normally abbreviated with the
dollar signThe dollar sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various dollar and peso units of currency around the world.-Origin:The sign is attested in business correspondence between the British, Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans in the 1770s, as referring to the Spanish-Mexican peso, known as...
$, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other
dollarThe dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, including Australia, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States.-History:...
-dominated currencies, It is divided into 100
sen (Malay) or
cents (English).
The Brunei dollar is
managed togetherA fixed exchange rate, sometimes called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currency's value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold.A fixed exchange rate is usually used to...
with the
Singapore dollarThe dollar is the currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
at a 1:1 ratio by
Monetary Authority of SingaporeThe Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore's central bank. It was set up in 1971 to oversee various monetary functions associated with banking as well as finance...
(MAS). (
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
is one of
BruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
's major trading partners.)
History
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 North
BorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided among Indonesia , Malaysia and Brunei . Indonesians refer to the island as Kalimantan...
.
Brunei issued
tinTin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead, like the two possible oxidation states +2 and +4...
coins denominated in pitis in
AHThe Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days, used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which...
1285 (AD1868). These were followed by a one cent coin in
AHThe Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days, used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which...
1304 (AD1888). This cent was one hundredth of a
Straits dollarThe Straits dollar was the currency of the Straits Settlements from 1904 until 1939. At the same time, it was also used in the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, Sarawak, Brunei, and British North Borneo.-History:...
.
As a protectorate of
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
in the early 20th century, Brunei used the
Straits dollarThe Straits dollar was the currency of the Straits Settlements from 1904 until 1939. At the same time, it was also used in the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, Sarawak, Brunei, and British North Borneo.-History:...
and later the
Malayan dollarThe dollar was the currency of the British colonies and protectorates in Malaya and Brunei until 1953. It was introduced in 1939, replacing the Straits dollar at par, with 1 dollar = two shillings four pence sterling .-History:The Malayan dollar was issued by the Board of Commissioners of...
and the
Malaya and British Borneo dollarThe Malaya and British Borneo dollar was the currency of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and Brunei from 1953 to 1967...
until 1967, when it began issuing its own currency.
The Brunei dollar replaced the
Malaya and British Borneo dollarThe Malaya and British Borneo dollar was the currency of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and Brunei from 1953 to 1967...
in 1967 after the formation of
MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
and the independence of
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
. Until June 23, 1973, the
Malaysian ringgitThe Malaysian ringgit is the currency of Malaysia. It is divided into 100 sen and its currency code is MYR...
was exchangeable at par with the Singapore dollar and Brunei dollar. The
Monetary Authority of SingaporeThe Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore's central bank. It was set up in 1971 to oversee various monetary functions associated with banking as well as finance...
and the Brunei Currency and Monetary Board still maintain the exchangeability of their two currencies. The dollar is accepted as "customary tender" in Singapore according to the Currency Interchangeability Agreement, although it is not legal tender there. Likewise, the Singapore dollar is customarily accepted in Brunei.
Coins
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.
Banknotes
In 1967, the government (
Kerajaan Brunei) introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 dollars. Notes for 500 and 1000 dollars followed in 1979. In 1989, the title on the paper money was changed to
Negara Brunei Darussalam, the official name of the country. 10,000 dollar notes were introduced the same year. All notes bear the denomination in Malay (in both
RumiThe modern Malay alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. It is the more common of the two scripts currently used to write Malay . Like the English language, it contains the 26 letters of the Modern Latin alphabet without any diacritics.-Letter names and pronunciations:Letter names in the Malay...
and
JawiJawi is an adapted Arabic alphabet for writing the Malay language.Jawi is one of the two official scripts in Brunei and Malaysia as the script for the Malay language...
)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
JawiJawi is an adapted Arabic alphabet for writing the Malay language.Jawi is one of the two official scripts in Brunei and Malaysia as the script for the Malay language...
.
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.
http://www.finance.gov.bn/tt/EDITKKW/bcb/notes_cir_2nd.htm
1967 series
First series (1967) - currency with the portrait of HM the late
Sultan Sir Omar Ali SaifuddinAl-Marhum Al-Hajj Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien III, GCVO, KCMG was born at Istana Kota, Kampong Sultan Lama, Brunei Town . He was installed as the 28th Sultan of Brunei on 4 June 1950...
, 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 HM Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin was replaced by the portrait of HM
Sultan Hassanal BolkiahHassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, GCB GCMG is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, the eldest son of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the previous Sultan of Brunei, and Pengiran Anak Damit....
, the 29th and current ruler of Brunei. All subsequent currency has the portrait of HM Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. In addition, two new higher denominations were issued in 1979.
- $1 ~ $100 like 1967 series
- $500 - orange
- $1000 - brown
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
- $1000 - 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 | | Dimensions | | Description | | Material |
|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | Window / Watermark |
|---|
| http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS1R3F.jpg |
http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS1R3B.jpg |
$1 |
141 x 69 mm |
Blue |
Sultan Hassanal BolkiahHassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, GCB GCMG is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, the eldest son of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the previous Sultan of Brunei, and Pengiran Anak Damit....
|
Rainforest Waterfall |
Coat of Arms of Brunei
(Transparent window) |
1996 |
Polymer |
| http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS2R3F.jpg |
http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS2R3B.jpg |
$5 |
Green |
Rainforest Floor |
| http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS3R4F.jpg |
http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS3R4B.jpg |
$10 |
Red |
Rainforest Canopy |
| http://www.banknoteworld.com/banknotes/brunei/BruneiP25-50Ringgit-1996-donatedsrb_f.jpg |
http://www.banknoteworld.com/banknotes/brunei/BruneiP25-50Ringgit-1996-donatedsrb_b.jpg |
$50 |
158 x 75 mm |
Brown, Green and Blue |
Oil Rig |
Sultan Hassanal BolkiahHassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, GCB GCMG is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, the eldest son of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the previous Sultan of Brunei, and Pengiran Anak Damit....
(Watermark) |
1996 |
Paper |
| http://www.banknoteworld.com/banknotes/brunei/BruneiP26-100Ringgit-1996-donatedsrb_f.jpg |
http://www.banknoteworld.com/banknotes/brunei/BruneiP26-100Ringgit-1996-donatedsrb_b.jpg |
$100 |
Brown, Orange |
Brunei International AirportBrunei International Airport is the primary airport in the nation of Brunei...
|
| http://www.banknoteworld.com/banknotes/brunei/BruneiP27-500Ringgit-2000-donatedungkl_f.jpg |
http://www.banknoteworld.com/banknotes/brunei/BruneiP27-500Ringgit-2000-donatedungkl_b.jpg |
$500 |
175 x 81 mm |
Orange |
Royal Regalia Building |
2000 |
|
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.
| 2004-2007 Polymer Notes |
| Image | | Dimensions | | Description | http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS4R1F.jpg
| http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS4R1B.jpg |
$50 |
158 x 75 mm |
Light Blue and Bronze |
Sultan Hassanal BolkiahHassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, GCB GCMG is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, the eldest son of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the previous Sultan of Brunei, and Pengiran Anak Damit....
|
Rainforest Waterfall |
Various different flora of Brunei |
15 July 2004
Hassanal Bolkiah's 58th birthday |
|---|
| http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS5R1F.jpg |
http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS5R1B.jpg |
$100 |
Gold |
Rainforest Floor |
| http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS6R1F.jpg |
http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS6R1B.jpg |
$500 |
175 x 81 mm |
Pink |
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III |
The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation Building (Yayasan) |
2006 |
28 December 2006 |
| http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS7R1F.jpg |
http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS7R1B.jpg |
$1000 |
182 x 84 mm |
Blue |
Sultan Hassanal BolkiahHassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, GCB GCMG is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, the eldest son of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the previous Sultan of Brunei, and Pengiran Anak Damit....
|
The Ministry of Finance Building |
21 June 2007 |
| http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS8R1FX.jpg |
http://www.polymernotes.org/images/pics/BRNS8R1BX.jpg |
$10,000 |
Unknown |
Green |
The Legislative Council Building |
28 December 2006 |
|
Commemorative
- $25 - purple and beige (1992)
- This was issued during the silver jubilee (25th anniversary) of HM 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 celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement (since 12 June 1967) by joint-issuing commemorative $20 notes.
- The two authorities issue distinct versions of the new $20 notes. They are both yellow, 149 × 72 mm in size, and made of polymer
Polymer banknotes were developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia , Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and The University of Melbourne and were first issued as currency in Australia in 1988. These banknotes are made from the polymer biaxially-oriented polypropylene ...
. The reverses are almost identical except that the Brunei version has their state title in Jawi script, while the Singaporean version has the state title of Brunei in Latin scriptLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
. The obverse of the Singaporean version is similar to the current Portrait SeriesThe Portrait Series of currency notes is the fourth and current set of notes to be issued for circulation in Singapore. It was first introduced on 9 September 1999 by the Board of Commissioners of Currency Singapore whose role was since taken over by the Monetary Authority of Singapore ...
, 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 creates above the commemorative text. Only 12,000 sets are available, 10,000 from the Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore's central bank. It was set up in 1971 to oversee various monetary functions associated with banking as well as finance...
, and 2,000 from the Brunei Currency and Monetary Board.
- The circulation version has been available since 16 July 2007.
External links