Singapore 1999 4th Portraits Series $2 banknote

Take note: because this note is still in circulation when I am making this video, there will be information missing in the video when you watch this after 2022.

Technical Specification:

Year issue: 1999

Size: 126 mm x 63 mm

Watermark: Encik Yusof bin Ishak.

Paper Type:

Signature on banknote: Dr. Hu Tsu Tau, Mr. Lee Hsieng Loong

Prefix: 0AA, general prefix

Replacement Prefix: ZZ

The symbol behind the banknote: none

Polymer Type:

Signature on banknote: Mr. Gok Chok Tong

Prefix: 2AA onward

The symbol below Education behind the banknote: 1 triangles, 2 triangles, 1 squares, 2 squares

Signature on banknote: Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Prefix: -

The symbol below Education behind the banknote: 1 diamond, 2 diamonds

Description

The $2 note shows a group of pupils interacting with a teacher in a "Borderless Classroom". Three prominent institutions of learning are seen in the background. From the extreme right, the institutions are Victoria Bridge School, the old Raffles Institution at Bras Basah Road, and the College of Medicine. Besides being closely associated with the late Encik Yusof at various stages of his life, the three institutions also symbolically represent the ideal educational progression in Singapore, namely primary, secondary and tertiary.

Also on the front of the $2 note is the Money Cowrie (Cypraea moneta Linnaeus, 1758). As its name implies, it was commonly used as a form of currency among the communities in the Indian and Pacific Oceans during the past. Humans have carried shells of this particular species to practically all parts of the world because of their beauty and remarkable gemlike shape and handy size. The back of the shell is usually yellow, with a fine filamentous red ring. This species is found in the shallow inter-tidal zone of rocky shores and has a wide distribution in the Indo-West Pacific region.