1973 Singapore Silver Coins

The two silver coins that Singapore issued in 1973

1973 Singapore 5 dollars (commermorative), KM#10, 25.000g, 0.5000Ag, 0.4019oz. Mintage: 250,000

The reverse of this coin features the National Stadium. Officially opened in 1973, it hosted the 7th South East Asia Peninsula (SEAP) games that same year. The coin was issued to commemorate these events. Through the years, many Singaporeans have grown to love the national stadium, watching national day parades or watching the national soccer team truimph in Malaysia Cup matches. If there are any buildings that most Singaporeans my age (give and take ten years) can identify with, this must be one of them. Sadly, it was demolished earlier this year.  The six rings above the stadium represent the six founding member nations of the SEAP games.

1973 Singapore 10 dollars, KM#9.2, 31.100g, 0.9000Ag, 0.8999oz. Mintage: 5,000 (PROOF).

The website of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) describe this coin's design as ‘a local sea eagle’. From what i know, there is only one kind of sea eagle in Singapore, and that is the white bellied sea eagle, Haliaeetus leucogaster, the largest bird of prey here. The obverse depicts the Singapore coat of arm while the reverse depicts a sea eagle in a landing poise. For this proof coin, the eagle and the coat of arm are in matte finishing while the rest of the coin is clear shiny silver. This coin could have become The Classic Singapore coin with the eagle as the centerpiece. However, i must say that the eagle is a bit of a let down, being not really lifelike and looking a bit cartoonish and amateurish. Still, I think I will eventually grow to love this coin. This particular proof coin that I have has serial number 4255. I got it from a Singapore seller through ebay. I later got another proof coin from a local coin shop, and amazingly, it has a serial number of 4254!