Malaysia 10 Cents 1971 Version 1

Finally, that is all that I can say. 

I now have this wonderful piece in my collection also due to the aid of my sifu Mr. Sia. To you Sir, I salute.

Anyone wanting to get into this hobby, I strongly suggest that you read the latest edition of the Standard Catalog of Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei Coin & Paper Money by Steven Tan. This book will aid you in knowing the current market value of your item based on it's grade.

There were only 32,236 pieces of 10 sen coins minted in 1971 (version 1, 2 and 3). Compared to 47.8 million pieces of 1 cent,16.6 million pieces of 5 cents,10 million pieces of 20 cents, 8.4 million pieces of 50 cents and 2.4 million pieces of One Dollar coin minted by Bank Negara Malaysia in 1971. 

Why is there such a low mintage of the 10 cents 1971 coin?

There are many version of the story. 

1. These coins were minted in the London Mint. After Bank Negara Malaysia had set up the local mint in Batu Tiga,Shah Alam they had halted production of the London Mint. However 32,236 pieces had already minted. 

This does not hold water as London Mint can produce a few hundred thousand of coins a day and why The Shah Alam Mint did not continue production after halting the minting process in London?

2. When the Shah Alam Royal Mint started its minting operation in 1971, Kuala Lumpur was hits by a big flood hindering minting process.

Pardon the pun but this theory also does not hold water or flood. Ha ha ha. Because the Shah Alam Mint started operations on 4 May 2017, whereas the flood occurred in January 1971 and in Kuala Lumpur not Shah Alam. 

4. Bank Negara Malaysia wanted to sell a coin set for 1971, to commemorate the newly open Malaysia Mint. This plan did not materialize. 

This theory also has has serious flaws as it does not explain why the 10 cents was only minted in such low amounts. 

3. The dies broke.

This suggestion is also debatable. A new Mint when starts operation will cause some technical challenges, i.e. machine breaking down, difference is in raw product supplied, employee issues, quality control and etc.

But all this issues can be overcome. If there was a material shortage or broken dies, why are there 3 versions of the coin in circulation?

Hence, we are back to square one. Why is there such a low mintage of the 1971 10 cents coin?  

There are no Malaysia coin in any denomination being issued in year 1972.

Finally added this recently to my collection. Malaysian Parliamentary 1971, 10 cents Version 1, beveled edge