coins do appreciate in value

in an earlier blog, i related how i ended up with some 'worthless' malaysian one ringgit coins. currencies actually do not become worthless because, over time as they become scarce, they will be in demand by collectors and hence the value may increase.

limited edition coins and notes actually appreciate in value quite rapidly over time. even coins and notes which are still in circulation today may fetch a greater than face value in the future. that is why collection of currency can be a rewarding hobby. when a coin becomes rare and even if it is no longer a legal tender, it can sometimes be worth a great many times its original face value.

i know that my one-dollar singapore merlion coins, minted between 1967 and 1984 and designed by the late mr kwan sai kheong, are worth at least $5.00 each if i sell them to collectors. however, i do not think i will part with them. i acquired a number of them in the 70s and i have been keeping them for posterity, maybe to pass on to my children and grandchildren.

although they are as legal tender as the ba-gua one dollar coins that we use every day, i have never see them in circulation. maybe, when they were first put into circulation, some people did use them but when others started to hoard them, they gradually ceased to seen being used in public.

if you go to the open air market at sungei road, you can see these coins in public. the people who trade in currencies do have them on display.