Cover image via CanvaFollow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.
If you grew up in Malaysia before the mid-2000s, you probably remember the days when RM1 came in the form of a coin
There was the one with a "$" symbol, and another with the word "RINGGIT" stamped on it. Both were genuine Malaysian currency, with the latter introduced in 1993.
But what happened to the RM1 coins?
Back in 2005, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced that the RM1 coin would cease to be legal tender and be withdrawn from circulation on 7 December that year.
The reason, according to a BNM statement, was due to the "low demand and increasingly unpopular usage of RM1 coins for purchases of goods and services in Malaysia".
At that time, RM1 coins made up less than 1% of the total value of currency in circulation.
Meanwhile, RM1 banknotes were already in circulation and BNM had been increasing their supply (and the supply of coins in other denominations) since 2000 to meet public demand.
BNM also clarified that the withdrawal was not because of fake RM1 coins
BNM said that reports of a large number of fake RM1 coins were incorrect and misleading. While there were isolated cases of RM1 coin forgery, they weren't considered significant enough to warrant withdrawing the coin.
The main reason was that it was simply becoming not as widely used as RM1 notes.
Today, a RM1 coin might look more like a piece of nostalgia than pocket change
Younger Malaysians, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, may have never even seen one in everyday use. But for those who remember using it, it was once just another part of everyday Malaysian life.
