Malaya 1945 5 cents

Stack's Bowers 2023 NYINC sale, lot 42476

formerly in the Mountain Groan Collection

The first specimen was lot 42476 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $80. The catalog description^[1] noted, "MALAYA. 5 Cents, 1945. London Mint. George VI. PCGS MS-65." 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. This type was struck in London in 1943 and 1945. As the colony was then under Japanese occupation, we wonder what the British did with them and the accompanying cent (KM 6), twenty cents (KM 5a) and ten cents (KM 4a). Coinage ceased in 1950 when the colony was merged with British North Borneo.

Recorded mintage: 8,800,000 plus 4,800,000 from Bombay.

Specification: 1.36 g, 0.500 fine silver, .021 troy oz ASW.

Catalog reference: KM-3a; Prid-17.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.

Link to:

• 1943 20 cents
• 1948 20 cents
• Coins and currency dated 1945