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Singapore stamps and money: One for the birds

on 16th August 2011

Singapore Stamps & Money: One for the Birds (Wee Yeow Chin, Tan Wee Kiat & Wang Luan Keng, 2011; ISBN: 978-981-08-8267-9), a collaboration between BESG and Dr Tan Wee Kiat (the educationist), has just been published.

The booklet documents the Singapore Bird Series Currency Notes (1976-1984). This series has nine denominations, each bearing a bird on the left side of the front of each note as follows:
$1 – Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana)
$5 – Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)
$10 – Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris)
$20 – Yellow-breasted Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis)
$50 – White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus)
$100 – Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis)
$500 – Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis)
$1000 – Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)
$10000 – White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

As for stamps, birds have been featured as far back as 1962 and subsequently every few years until 2010. Altogether there have been 56 issues of bird stamps. Included in these series is the Singapore-Malaysia joint-stamp on birds that was issued in 2002. Series on the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Chek Jawa Nature Park, Kent Ridge Park Trail and MacRitchie Tree Top Walk are also included, as are the birds featured in the William Farquah Collection.

Each of the bird featured in the currency notes and stamps has an accompanying write-up that gives the salient points on plumage, calls, feeding behaviour, etc. Background information on where to view birds, accounts on common birds not featured in currency notes and stamps are also featured in the book.

Prominent in the book is an account on Singapore’s pioneer bird photographer and intrepid ornithologist, Loke Wan Tho and his classic, A Company of Birds.

YC Wee
Singapore
August 2011

NOTE:
Dr Tan Wee Kiat will be having a soft launch of his book on Saturday 20th August 2011 from 1.00 pm to 2.30 pm. The venue is the KopiTiam Food Court found at the basement of the SingPost HQ. Also known as Singapore Postal Centre, it is by the Paya Lebar MRT Station. Those who are interested in getting a copy of the book, please drop by, locate Wee Kiat and identify yourself as a BESG fan/member. He has generously offered to give away 100 copies on a first come first serve basis.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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One Response

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