Sterling silver ingot featuring Thian Hock Keng temple

Collections
1613889
Title
Sterling silver ingot featuring Thian Hock Keng temple
Year/Period
1 December 1978
Region
Singapore
Object Type
Dimension
Object size: 0.7 x 7.4 x 9.4 cm
Accession No.
2025-01471

This sterling silver ingot depicts the Thian Hock Keng temple, one of the first places of worship to be designated a National Monument. This is part of a set of ingots struck by the Singapore Mint in 1978. As a complete set, the ingots depict five of Singapore's oldest places of worship: Thian Hock Keng Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple, Armenian Church, Hajjah Fatimah Mosque, and St. Andrew's Cathedral. A maximum of 3,000 pieces of each design were issued by the Mint, which agreed to make a donation to the Preservation of Monuments Fund from the proceeds of the sales. The sale of these ingots was announced on 20 Oct 1978, and by 26 November the same year all five of the design were fully subscribed. Thian Hock Keng (天福宫, ‘Palace of Heavenly Happiness’) is one of Singapore’s oldest Hokkien temples. Construction of the temple began in 1839 and was completed three years later. It was gazetted as a National Monument on 28 June 1973, part of the first group of 8 buildings to be designated as such.