THIRD SERIES CHINESE ALMANAC COINS DESIGN COMPETITION

Introduction

Entrants can participate in the competition either as an individual or as a team, hereafter referred to as 'artist'. Each artist may submit a maximum of 3 sets of designs. 

2 The winner will receive a prize money of US$15,000. Up to five merit awards of US$1,000 each would also be given.

Design Brief

3 The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has since 1981, been issuing coins based on the 12 animals in the Chinese Almanac.  To-date, two series of the Almanac coins have been issued. The design for the First Series Almanac coins was based on realistic representation of the 12 animals while the Second Series depict the animals in traditional Chinese paper cut design.

4 Coins bearing designs of the 'Sheng Xiao' or the Chinese Almanac are very popular in Singapore. 'Sheng Xiao' refers to the twelve animals used by the Chinese to symbolise the earthly branches as shown below:

5 As the Second Series is coming to an end in 2004 with the Monkey design, MAS is organizing this competition to select designs for the Third Series coins which is to be issued yearly from 2005 to 2016. 

6 The Third Almanac Series will comprise different types of coins as follows:

Design Criteria

7 The design criteria for the Third Series coins are as follows:

a) The artist shall submit designs of a complete set comprising 12 animals of the Chinese Almanac.  The designs shall be aesthetically appealing and significantly different from the First (PDF, 158KB) and Second Series Coins (PDF, 294KB).

b) The designs must be suitable for coining purposes.

c) The designs must bear the denomination of the coin in numerals for use on the coins.

d) The designs could either be a realistic, abstract or symbolic representation of each of the twelve animals in the Chinese Almanac. 

e) The designs may include appropriate wordings for purpose of identifying each particular animal of the Chinese Almanac.

f) There should be a common theme for each respective set of designs submitted.

g) The designs should have an Oriental cultural appeal. They should be lively and reflect the festive joy of a new Lunar New Year.

h) The coins need not have to be of a round shape.  The coins could also be designed in such a manner that when pieced together as a complete set of 12, they form a Chinese symbol of blessings. Each individual coin should however be aesthetically appealing in its own.

Rules and Regulations

8 Below are the rules and regulations of the competition: 

a) The complete set of artwork comprises 12 designs based on the Almanac commencing 2005 with the Rooster design and ending in 2016 with the Monkey design. The artist is required to submit the complete set consisting 12 designs on or before the closing date. 

b) All designs must be not exceed an area of 175 mm-square.  They must be produced in ordinary dyeline print uncolored ie black drawing against white background. The finished designs should have a 3-dimensional effect to bring out the relief. Each design must be mounted on hard cardboard measuring 300mm x 450 mm and presented in portrait orientation.

c) The rationale for the designs must be typed (in 12 point font size) and  pasted below the coin design mentioned in point (b) above.

d) Each finished design of the size mentioned in point (b) should be translated into the actual coin size as shown in paragraph 6 and be produced in ordinary dyeline print uncoloured ie black drawing against white background. The coin size design should be placed below the design mentioned in point (b) to facilitate comparison.

e) The name and address of the artist must be indicated at the back of the hard cardboards.

f) Each design must be original and shall not be a reproduction or adaptation of any known design. The artist is solely responsible for any copyright  infringements.

g) MAS reserves the right to alter and modify any selected  designs, or not to accept any designs and the artist shall have no claim against MAS for costs and/or damages howsoever incurred, whether in the creation, alteration, modification or submission of the designs or otherwise. The artist shall undertake to submit revised designs, as and when required, in accordance to MAS specifications.

h) The artist shall assign the copyright of the selected designs to MAS. MAS also reserves the right to appoint another person to adapt the selected designs into a final design suitable for coining.

i) The artist shall also assign to MAS the right to reproduce, publish or use the selected designs or adapted designs in the manufacture and issue of the abovementioned coin and/or in any other material form.

j) Every design submitted shall become the sole and exclusive property of MAS and will not be returned to the artist. MAS also reserves the right to use or not to use any of the selected designs for the coin. MAS shall not be responsible for any loss of or damage to any of the designs submitted or purported to have been submitted to MAS. MAS will pay out the prize money to the artist of the selected design upon acceptance of designs. The artist, on receipt of such prize money shall execute the assignment on the terms in the enclosed assignment document (PDF, 10.2KB).

k) The artist shall maintain complete confidentiality over the matter and shall not divulge any information in relation to the coin design to any other person without the written consent of MAS.

l) The artist is required to work with the Mint and where necessary to modify the designs as necessary to allow integration of minting and security features.

m) MAS reserves the right not to award any of the prizes should the entries fail to meet the desired standards of the panel of judges.

n) The Singapore Note and Coin Advisory Committee(SNCAC) shall be the panel of judges and its decision is final. No correspondence will be entertained.

o) Winners will be notified of the results of the contest by post by 30 Nov 2003.

p) Submission of entries signifies acceptance of the rules and regulations of the competition.

q) Staff of MAS and their immediate family members are not allowed to participate in the competition.

Submission Date

9 The closing date of entry is 31 July 2003 at 12 noon. All 12 (twelve) designs shall be submitted in one lot by 12 noon on 31 July 2003 in a sealed cover, delivered by hand or registered mail to:

Monetary Authority of Singapore
Currency Department
MAS Currency House
109 Pasir Panjang Road
Singapore 118536
Attn:   Mr M Silvarajoo

Enquiries

For any enquiries, please contact:

Mr M Silvarajoo or Mdm Agatha Goh
Telephone no: 6349 4660 or 6349 4615
Fax no: 6349 4760 or 6349 4715
Email address: muthusamy@mas.gov.sg or
   agathagoh@mas.gov.sg