From the years 1946 to 1952, the nation used currency that were issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency Malaya. These notes and coins bore the portrait of the British monarch, King George VI. From 1952, the notes and coins took on the portrait of yet another monarch which is Queen Elizabeth II and were issued in place of the older ones. When Malaya gained independence in 1957, the design of the currency issued were change in the year 1959 and 1961, with a “fishing boat for the $1” and “a farmer with buffalo ploughing field for the $10” respectively.

Finally, Malaysian dollar that was issued by the new central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, in year 1967 was to replace the Malaya and British Borneo dollar. It was not until the year 1975 that Malaysia officially adopted the ringgit. The same goes to Malaysian coins, which are a part of the national currency. In year 1967, there were coins issued in the denominations of 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and 50 sen, whereas the RM1 coin (which used the $ symbol and is the thickest and heaviest in the series) was issued in 1971.