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The Hong Kong dollar is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong dollar.
Japanese military currency was money issued to the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces as a salary. The military yen reached its peak during the Pacific War period, when the Japanese government excessively issued it to all of its occupied territories. In Hong Kong, the military yen was forced upon the local population as the sole official currency of the territory. Since the military yen was not backed by gold, and did not have a specific place of issuance, the military yen could not be exchanged for the Japanese yen. Forcing local populations to use the military yen officially was one of the ways the Japanese government could dominate the local economies.
The Hong Kong coinage, including 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5 & $10, is issued by Hong Kong Monetary Authority on behalf of the Government of Hong Kong. From 1863 until 1992, these coins were embossed with the reigning British monarch's effigy. Since 1 January 1993, a new series depicting the bauhinia flower was gradually issued, including a new denomination of $10. Since the beginning of the coin replacement programme on 1 January 1993, over 585 million coins featuring Queen Elizabeth II have been withdrawn from circulation. However, these coins remain legal tender. The total value of coins in circulation in Hong Kong can be found in Monthly Statistical Bulletin and the Annual Report.
The issue of banknotes of the Hong Kong dollar is governed in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the governmental currency board of Hong Kong. Under licence from the HKMA, three commercial banks issue their own banknotes for general circulation in the region. Notes are also issued by the HKMA itself.
The cash was a currency denomination used in China in imperial times. It was the chief denomination until the introduction of the yuan in the late 19th century.
The one-dollar coin is the fourth-highest and fourth-lowest denomination coin of the Hong Kong dollar.
The one-cent banknote was the smallest denominated banknote issued in Hong Kong. They were issued by the government and were initially released on 30 May 1941 and printed by Noronha and Company Limited to provide small change because of a lack of coinage brought on by the Second World War. The first issue was 42 by 75 mm, the obverse was brown with a serial number of seven numbers with either no prefix or an A or B prefix. This side was mostly in English, except for "Government of Hong Kong" which was also in Chinese. The reverse was red and the denomination in English and Chinese. After the Japanese take over of Hong Kong the issue was replaced by the Japanese Military Yen.
The ten-dollar coin is the highest-valued circulating coin issued in Hong Kong.
The five-dollar coin is the second-highest-denomination coin of the Hong Kong dollar. It replaced the five-dollar banknote in 1976.
The ten-dollar note was first produced in 1868 by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation with the formal adoption of a currency system just for Hong Kong. There had been a variety of the green coloured ten-dollar notes issued by several banks concurrently. These were all phased out with the introduction of the ten dollar coin in 1994.
The one mil coin was the smallest denomination of the Hong Kong dollar from 1863 to 1866, after this date it was no longer issued but may have circulated much longer. Its value was one tenth of a cent, or a thousandth of a dollar. It was minted by the Royal Mint, it features the Royal cypher of "VR", of the reigning monarch Queen Victoria at the time, but didn't feature a profile of the face of the monarch as all other coins did, due to the hole in the middle.
The five-cent coin was first issued as a silver coin of .800 fineness in 1866. It had a diameter of 15 mm, thickness of 0.80 mm, weighed 1.34 grams, and had a reeded edge. This coin was minted in silver until 1935, when its composition was changed to copper-nickel. It had an extensive mintage between 1866 and 1933, with some issued in 1932–33 with a plain edge. The coin was not minted in 1869–71, 1878, 1896, and 1906–1932. The following copper-nickel denomination was identical in all aspects except the composition and weight: it weighed 1.36 grams, 0.02 grams heavier than the previous coin. This was a one-year type as it was replaced with a pure nickel coin in 1937. This time, it had a diameter of 16.51 mm, was 1.73 mm thick, and weighed 2.59 grams. This was minted until 1941, with the last issue being scarce. Unlike the very rare 1941 Hong Kong one-cent coin these are available, although were never released to circulation because of the Japanese occupation.
The twenty-dollar note was first issued by the Oriental Bank Corporation from 1866 to 1884. These banknotes are not very common and are listed as extremely rare. Apart from this, the banknote was reintroduced in 1985 by the Standard Chartered Bank in green and yellow, followed by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1986 in similar colours, but more green involved. The Bank of China issued their version in 1994 as a blue coloured banknote. These were standardised in 2004 when all three types of banknotes were changed to a blue colour.
The fifty-dollar note was first issued undated in the 1860s by the Oriental Bank Corporation, the Mercantile Bank, the Standard Chartered Bank but a confirmed date for this bank is 1879, followed by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1877. The National Bank of China also issued this denomination in the 1890s, but they are seldom seen. There was a continuous issue till the Second World War in different colours and dimensions, but they ceased to be printed between 1934 and 1941, depending on the bank. After the war no banks resumed to issue this denomination. They were resumed by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1968 the Standard Chartered Bank in 1970 as a blue note. This was then changed to purple in 1985 with a new smaller version and then to the current green issue in 2003. The Bank of China issued their version in 1994. The colour was made uniform when green for all banknotes was adopted.
The Hong Kong one hundred dollar note was first issued from 1858 from the Mercantile Bank, 1866 by the Oriental Bank Corporation, the Standard Chartered Bank from the 1860s but a confirmed date for this bank is 1879, followed by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1877. Specimens are known from the Agra and Masterman's Bank and the Asiatic Banking Corporation that existed between 1862–66 and from The National Bank of China in the 1890s. There was a continuous issue till the Second World War in different colours and dimensions, and this issue was resumed after the war in 1946, by the HSBC, Mercantile and Standard Chartered Banks. This was somewhat standardised in 1970 when the Chartered Bank changed the issue from brown to red, red was the colour of the other two issues. The Mercantile bank stopped issuing banknotes after 1974 and the Bank of China issued their version in 1994. The colour was made uniform when red for all banknotes was adopted.
The Hong Kong five hundred dollar note was first issued in undated from the 1860s by the Oriental Bank Corporation, the Standard Chartered Bank but a confirmed date for this bank is 1879, followed by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1877, the Mercantile Bank in 1948 and the Bank of China in 1994. The Specimens are known from the Agra and Masterman's Bank and the Asiatic Banking Corporation between 1862-66. The National Bank of China issued theirs in the 1890s. There was a continuous issue till the Second World War in different colours and dimensions, they were reissued from 1946. The Mercantile bank ceased issue of this denomination after 1959. There was a standardisation of size in 1979 when the Chartered Bank reduced the size to that similar to HSBC. The colour was made uniform in 2003 when brown for all banknotes was adopted.
The one thousand-dollar note is the highest-valued banknote in circulation in Hong Kong. Currently, this note is issued by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Standard Chartered Hong Kong, and the Bank of China. Due to its gold-colored theme, this note was nicknamed “Gold Cow ” by the locals, derived from the term “Big Cow ” that is used for the city's five hundred-dollar note. If counted according to the notes’ serial number, it is the note with the second-lowest printing figure, higher than that of the fifty-dollar note.
The Hong Kong five-cent note was issued by the government, initially released on 16 October 1941 and printed by Noronha and Company Limited to provide small change because of a lack of coinage brought on by the Second World War. The first issue was 48 by 85 mm; the obverse was green with serial numbers of seven numbers with no prefix. This side was mostly in English, except for "Government of Hong Kong" which was also in Chinese. The reverse was blue and the denomination in English and Chinese. After the Japanese take-over of Hong Kong, the issue was replaced by the Japanese military yen.
The one dollar note was first issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1872 to 1935. No other bank issued this denomination. In 1935 the Government of Hong Kong took over the issuing and became the sole issuer for this denomination. There was a continuous issue till the Second World War when it was replaced by the Japanese Military Yen, and this issue was resumed after the war in 1946, until 1960, when it was replaced with a coin. The initial issue by the HSBC was brown on the obverse and red on the reverse. The note was stylised and was 189 by 123 mm. This was changed in 1889 to a new design and size, now it was 129 by 86 and the colours were blue on the obverse and red on the reverse. This lasted till 1904 when a new issue was released, being 132 by 90 mm and green on the obverse and orange the reverse. The colour and size of this issue was changed in 1923 to 131 by 93 mm and was green on both sides. The last issue by the HSBC was in 1926 when a new design 131 by 95 was issued in blue obverse and purple reverse, both sides with a yellow background.
The five-dollar note was first issued in 1858 by the Mercantile Bank, 1865 by the Standard Chartered Bank, 1866 by the Oriental Bank Corporation, 1897 by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and 1894 by the National Bank of China. There was a continuous issue until the Second World War in different colours and dimensions, and this issue was resumed after the war in 1946, by the HSBC and Standard Chartered banks. The various banks' designs were somewhat standardised in 1970 when the Chartered Bank changed the issue from green to brown, as this was the colour of the HSBC issue. The Standard Charted Bank issued two colours from 1967 to 1970, a yellow and green note. These are described as being a yellow and green key in reference to the image of two keys on either side of the banknote. This denomination was replaced by a coin in 1976.
References
- Ma Tak Wo 2004, Illustrated Catalogue of Hong Kong Currency, Ma Tak Wo Numismatic Co., LTD Kowloon Hong Kong. ISBN 962-85939-3-5
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See also: List of Chinese inventions | ||||||||||||