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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/King Edward V11 STRAITS SETTLEMENTS 1904 $1 coin

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Expert: - 3/21/2009


Question
Dear Sir,

My mum found the above coin in an old purse of hers and wondered about its history & whether it has any value.
Any information would be much appreciated. Thankyou

Answer

1904strait_sett
Hello Dorothy,               

I am not an expert on foreign coins and do not have much information on them.
I use the "The Standard Catalog of World Coins" for information on foreign issued coins. Every library has a copy in its reference section. It lets you know how many were made, what metal it is made of and lists a value as well.  As I am not a foreign coin expert there may be someone else on-line that can tell you more about what you have.

I see it selling from $20 to  about $50 US in almost uncirculated condition and less than $20 in worn condition.

But here is the information I have cataloged;
British Ruled.
1904 Dollar Coin, British Malaysia, Straits Settlements, Edward VII (1901-10).
The Straits Settlements Silver Trade Dollar dated 1904;
MINT MARKS H - Heaton, Birmingham, W - Soho Mint, B - Bombay
MONETARY SYSTEM  100 Cents = 1 Dollar

The establishment of the Straits Settlements followed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, by which the Malay Archipelago was divided into a British zone in the north and a Dutch zone in the south. This resulted in the exchange of the British settlement of Bencoolen (on Sumatra) for the Dutch colony of Malacca and undisputed control of Singapore. Its capital was moved from Penang to Singapore in 1832.
Straits Settlements situated on the Malay Peninsula of Asia, was formed in 1826 by combining the territories of Singapore, Penang and Malacca. The colony was administered by the East India Company until its abolition in 1858. Straits Settlements was a part of British India from 1858 to 1867 at which time it became a Crown Colony.
The Straits Settlements coinage gradually became acceptable legal tender in the neighboring Federated as well as the Un-federated Malay States. The Straits Settlements were dissolved in 1946, while the coinage continued to circulate until demonetized at the end of 1952.

A 3 page special issue of the Straits Settlements Government Gazette published in Singapore on 24 Aug. 1904 contained the following proclamation by then Governor, Sir John Anderson. From 31 Aug. 1904, British, Mexican and Hong Kong Dollars would cease to be legal tender and would be replaced by the newly introduced Straits Settlements Dollar.
The purpose of this action was to create a separate exchange value for the new Straits Dollar as compared with the other silver dollars that were circulating in the region, notably the British trade dollar. The idea was that when the exchange value had diverged significantly from that of the other silver dollars, then the authorities would peg it to sterling at that value, hence putting the Straits Settlements unto the gold exchange standard. This pegging occurred when the Straits Dollar reached the value of two shillings and four pence (2s 4d) against sterling.

Within a few years, the value of silver rose rapidly such as to make the silver value of the Straits dollar higher than its gold exchange value. In order to prevent these dollars from being melted down, a new smaller dollar was issued in 1907 with a reduced silver content. A parallel story occurred in the Philippines at the same time. The last ¼ cent coins were issued in 1916. Dollars were last struck for circulation in 1920, with 50 cents production ending in 1921. The remaining coins continued in production until 1935.

Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack
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    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentThanks you so much - you have answered our question very well. Regards


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PAPAJACK

Expertise

Knowledge of United States Coins from 1793 to date. Able to answer most common numismatic questions. Collected U.S. Coins from half cent to 50 dollar gold coins.

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United States Coin COLLECTOR/DEALER OVER 20 YEARS, U.S. COINS Worked trade shows,
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