The world's most valuable banknote is now a relic of history

Science · Published 19 October 2026 · Updated 21 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For years, the Singapore dollar held a title of extreme wealth. The S$10,000 note was officially the world's most valuable banknote in circulation, worth over seven times its closest competitor. However, a strategic move to curb money laundering has fundamentally changed the landscape of global currency.

The Singapore dollar (SGD) is a major global currency, currently ranked as the 13th most traded in the world as of 2024. Its monetary history is deeply intertwined with regional neighbors. While Singapore established its own Board of Commissioners of Currency on April 7, 1967, and issued its first notes shortly after, it maintained a currency interchangeability agreement with Malaysia until 1973 and continues a similar arrangement with Brunei today.

Singapore's exchange regime has evolved from a fixed peg to the British pound in the late 1940s to a more complex 'Monitoring Band' system adopted in 1985. Under this regime, the MAS monitors the SGD against an undisclosed basket of currencies from major trading partners. This mechanism is designed to manage imported inflation while ensuring that Singapore's exports remain competitive in a global market.

The S$10,000 note famously stood as the world's most valuable banknote until 2014. To mitigate the risks of money laundering, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced it would stop printing these notes on October 1, 2014. While the S$10,000 and B$10,000 notes remain legal tender, MAS also ceased production of the S$1,000 note on January 1, 2021. This move mirrors global trends, such as the European Central Bank's 2016 discontinuation of the 500-euro note.

To maintain public confidence, all currency in circulation is fully backed by external assets in a Currency Fund. By March 2017, the MAS's total assets reached S$395 billion, which was more than seven times the size of the specific Currency Fund assets (S$55 billion). In 2017, the government moved to merge these funds, recognizing that the currency is effectively backed by the full financial strength of the MAS.

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