Malaya 1939 5 cents
This specimen was lot 165 in Schulman auction 385 (Amsterdam, July 2025), where it sold for €70 (about US$99 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "Mali - 5 Cents 1939, Silver, GEORGE VI 1936-1952, MALAYA Crowned head left. Rev. value. NGC MS65." The Straits Settlements began as a miscellaneous group of trading stations in Southeast Asia and gradually developed into what is now Malaya. Coinage for the Straits Settlements ceased in 1935 and that of Malaya began in 1939 with a cent (KM 2), five cents (shown here), ten cents (KM 4) and twenty cents. This type was issued again in 1941. Coinage ceased in 1950 when the colony was merged with British North Borneo.
Recorded mintage: 2,000,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 1.36 g, 0.750 fine silver, 16 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 3.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Absil, Andrew, Olle Cederholm, Erik de Visser and Rik van Noorloos, Schulman sale 385, Amsterdam: Schulman b.v., 2025.
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