25 Cent North Borneo (1882-1963)

1929, British North Borneo. Scarce Silver 25 Cents Coin.

Mint Year: 1929 

Denomination: 25 Cents 

Reference: KM-6

Mint Place: Heaton´s mint (Birmingham) 

Material: Silver (500) 

Weight: 2.83gm

The North Borneo Chartered Company or British North Borneo Company was a chartered company assigned to administer North Borneo (today’s Sabah in Malaysia) in August 1881. North Borneo became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs administered by the company until 1946 when it became the colony of British North Borneo. The main motto was Pergo et Perago (Latin), which means “I undertake and I achieve”. The first chairman of the company was Alfred Dent.

In 1882, the North Borneo Chartered Company established a settlement on Pulau Gaya, one year after the Chartered Company was given the mandate to rule Sabah. However, in 1897, this settlement was burnt to the ground during the raid led by Mat Salleh, a Sabah tribal Chief and it was never re-established. This company is also known as ‘Syarikat Borneo Utara British’ and was criticised by the locals for the taxes it collected.

Establishing law and order as well as recruiting Sikh policeman from North India was one of the early roles the NBCC initiated, as well as expanding trade, a system of government, courts to enforce laws and punishment and building both a railway line from Jesselton to Tenom and encouraging the harvesting and barter trade of both local agriculture produce and crops, as well as establishment of plantations.

North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered   Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of   Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo.   It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is   now the state of Sabah, East Malaysia. The last Governor of North Borneo   was William Allmond Codrington Goode who held office from 1959 to 1963.