Sterling silver ingot featuring Armenian Church

Collections
1613896
Title
Sterling silver ingot featuring Armenian Church
Year/Period
1 February 1979
Region
Singapore
Object Type
Dimension
Object size: 0.7 x 7.4 x 9.4 cm
Accession No.
2025-01473

This sterling silver ingot depicts the Armenian Church, 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. The Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator is the oldest surviving Christian church in Singapore. Designed by G. D. Coleman, the building was completed in 1835. The church was gazetted a National Monument on 28 June 1973, part of the first group of 8 buildings to be designated as such.