The Sad and Smiley Face of $1 Coin

The Sad and Smiley Face of $1 Coin

There are circulating emails that claim our $1 coins minted in 1990 had the Singapore crests’ banners, with the words “Majulah Singapura”, curved downwards, giving an impression of a sad face. Due to the Asian Currency Crisis in 1997, the banners were redesigned to curve upwards after fengshui experts were consulted. In this way, the coins present smiley faces.

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has rebutted this urban legend by stating the crest on newer coins is the actual one. The older ones were minted in that way due to the limitations of minting technology, where the 3D effect of the crest could not be displayed easily. The changes was made in 1992 instead of 1997, when the new minting method was introduced.