Wait, What?! This Man Has Sold Old RM1 Notes for RM12,000 Per Set & RM2,600 Per Note

By Karissa Lund  •  05 Oct 2020 in News

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Collecting old money is like collecting stamps – it’s something you do when you’re young (because most likely, you grew up without the Internet) and most of us never really know how much our collections are worth until we read an article like this…

According to Harian Metro, money collector (or numismatic), Muhammad Ibrahim Hassan takes pride in his collecting and bargaining skills when it involves old money.

For now, he owns more than 500 pieces of old money and constantly updates the collection of notes according to market demand and unique series amounts.

Ibrahim, who’s been doing this for 10 years, noted that the first four series of RM1 notes are currently being sought by thousands of money collectors due to their high value in the market. Apparently, the price can jump to five figures depending on the condition of the note money as well as the “beautiful” serial number.

Explaining the differences between the four series of old RM1 notes, the first and the fourth series are the hardest to find and it’s basically a must-have in any numismatic’s collection – especially ones which have the lowest serial number.

“The most hunted and valued (old money) at this time is the first to fourth series note, specifically the money that is signed by the second Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Tun Ismail Mohd Ali and the third BNM Governor, Tan Sri Datuk Abdul Aziz Taha.

I once sold a RM1 note that has a low serial number of 100 or less at the price of RM12,000 for a set. That was about two years ago and it is expected to rise around RM2,000 again if sold today,” he told HM.

He added that the value of old money can change based on several other aspects such as the situation when the money is issued and evaluation based on grades by certain international qualifying companies like Paper Money Guaranty (PMG).

“Most people think that old money has a high value, but there are times when new notes, that are around the 1990s, have a higher value than old money. For example, I sold an RM1 note that has Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman signature for RM2,600. (This is because) The RM1 note was withdrawn from the market because the official signature on the banknote at that time was supposed to be Tan Sri Dr Ungku Zeti Akhtar,” he said.

Recently, Ibrahim also stumbled upon an RM1 note that has a “solid” serial number of 444 and with that, he was offered RM2,000 for it!

Millennials and Gen Z, guess we have a new hobby to try…