Brief History of Colonial North
Borneo
1761-1805 – British East India Company officer
Alexander Dalrymple established a port at Balambangan Island ( Felicia Island )
off Kudat following agreement signed with Sultan of Sulu.
The British abundant the port in 1805 mainly due to
piracy.
1865-1866 – US Consul to Brunei, Charles Lee Moses
obtained a 10-year-lease for the territory of North Borneo from the Sultan of
Brunei. He sold the rights to American
Trading Company of Borneo ( owned by Joseph William Torrey, Thomas Bradley
Harris, Tat Cheong et al ) Torrey founded Ellena at Kimanis River.
Ellena abandoned in 1866 due to multiple issues.
Rights for North Borneo sold to Consul of the
Austro-Hungrian Empire in Hong Kong, Baron Gustav von Overbeck.
1875 – Baron Gustav von Overbeck obtained an
extension of 10-year renewal from the Temenggong of Brunei.
1880 – Baron Gustav von Overbeck withdrew from North
Borneo. Alfred Dent resumed full
control.
1881 – Alfred Dent found British North Borneo
Provisional Association Ltd and obtained Royal Charter.
1882 – The North Borneo Chartered Company replaced
the Provisional Association. Sir
Rutherford Alcock became the first President.
Alfred Dent became the Managing Director.
1884 – NBCC territory expanded to Putatan river &
Padas district.
1885 – NBCC territory expanded to Kawang river &
Mantanani Islands
1888 – North Borneo became a protectorate of
Britain.
1942 – North Borneo fell to Japan invasion.
1945 – North Borneo liberated by Australian forces,
administered under BMA.
1946 – North Borneo became a British Crown colony.
Jesselton replaced Sandakan as capital.
1963, August 31 – North Borneo granted
self-government.
1963, September 16 – North Borneo joined Malaya,
Sarawak and Singapore to form Malaysia.
X x x
With the granting of Royal Charter in 1881, North
Borneo had the right to produce coin of its own. It has 1 cent coins struck in England from
1882, and ½cent from 1885, both in bronze, minted by Heaton
& Sons of Birmingham.
The British North Borneo dollar was at par with the
Straits dollar ( and its successor, the Malayan dollar ), and Sarawak dollar. All of the currencies were replaced with
Malaya and British Borneo dollar in 1953.
Description
Observe :
Half Cent – Older Shield of North Borneo Chartered Company. A mint mark “H” below the shield, above the ‘year
of mint’.
One Cent – Shield of North Borneo Chartered Company, with “Pergo
et Perago” which means “I undertake and I achieve” inscribed on banner. A mint mark “H” inscribed at bottom of shield,
above the ‘year of mint’.
Reverse :
Half Cent – Within a
laurel wreath, “HALF CENT” inscribed horizontally in middle, Chinese characters
“洋元 半分”
vertically crossing the English characters.
Below the wreath is value in Malay written in Jawi “تڠه سين”. Encircled
the wreath is “ BRITISH NORTH BORNEO Co
One Cent - Within a
laurel wreath, “ONE CENT” inscribed horizontally in middle, Chinese characters “洋元 一分” vertically crossing the English characters. Below the wreath is value in Malay written in
Jawi “س توسا”. Encircled the wreath is “
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO Co”
Technical Details
Year of Mint : 1882- 1907
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½¢
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1¢
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1882
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1884
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1885
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1886
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1887
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1888
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1889
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1890
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1891
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1894
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1896
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1907
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Value : ½ cent, 1 cent
Composition : Bronze
Diameter : 23.5mm, 29.6mm
Weight : 4.60g, 9.25g
Mint :Heaton & Sons, Birmingham
X x x
In 1903-1904, the bronze coins were replaced with copper-nickel
coins. ½¢ coins were
discontinued. 2½¢ & 5¢ were
introduced 1n 1903. New copper-nickel 1¢
coins were struck in 1904. Apparently,
the amount of the new coins were sufficed until 2 decades later in 1921 when a
new batch were minted.
A 25¢
cents of silver coin were struck only in 1929.
All North
Borneo coins were discontinued to be legal tender in 1941 with Japanese invasion. During the Japanese occupation, paper money
was issued in denominations ranging from 1 cent to 1000 dollars. After the surrender of the Japanese in 1945,
North Borneo coins regain their position as legal tender.
In 1953,
all North Borneo coins were demonetized when Malaya and British Borneo dollar
was introduced.
Description
Observe :
Shield of North Borneo Chartered Company , with “Pergo
et Perago” which means “I undertake and I achieve” inscribed on banner. A mint mark “H” inscribed at bottom of shield.
Reverse :
Within a circle
of beads, ‘value’ inscribed in numeric followed by “”CENT or “CENTS”. Below
is ‘year of mint’. Encircled by “STATE
OF NORTH BORNEO”.
Technical Details
Year of Mint : 1903 - 1941
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1¢
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2½¢
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5¢
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25¢
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1903
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1904
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1920
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1921
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1928
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1929
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1935
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1938
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1941
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Value : 1 cent, 2½ cents, 5 cents & 25 cents
Composition : Copper-Nickel ( 1¢, 2½¢, 5¢ ) & Silver ( 25¢ )
Diameter : 20.0mm, 24.5mm, 28.1mm & 18.0mm
Weight : 3.30g, 4.90g, 7.30g & 2.83g
Mint :Heaton & Sons, Birmingham
