Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Straits Settlements of the Malayan Peninsula have a distinct postal history from the other Malayan areas. Mail was originally handled privately by passing ships; the earliest known postal markings date from around 1806, used by a post office on Prince of Wales Island (now Penang). Service was regularized in 1837 by the Indian Post Office Act; postage stamps of India were used from 1854, the Settlements being considered part of the "Bengal circle", then from 1861 part of the "Burma circle". The cancellations used were B109 at Malacca, B147 at Penang, and B172 at Singapore. 1904 8c, used in 1906 When the Settlements became a crown colony in 1867, they began issuing their own stamps, not least because they adopted a currency based on 96 cents to a silver dollar.