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1 Cash - Victoria Trial Strike
| Issuer | Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Within a beaded border, the legend HONG-KONG arcs along the upper periphery, with ONE CASH along the lower periphery. The date 18 63 is divided at centre left and right, flanking the royal cypher VR (Victoria Regina) prominently displayed in the central field. A small crown device appears at the top centre above the date, lending regal authority to this trial piece. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Within a beaded border, four Chinese characters are arranged in the four quadrants of the field, reading Hong Kong One Cash (香港一文). The characters are rendered in a bold, upright style, with the composition divided by faint linear elements suggesting a cruciform arrangement in the central field. The design is spare and unadorned, typical of trial and pattern issues produced for official review. |
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| Additional information |
The 1863 cash denominations were part of a broader attempt to introduce a coin that would circulate alongside — and ideally displace — the vast quantities of Chinese cast cash already in use across the colony. The experiment failed. Merchants and coolies alike continued to preference the familiar Chinese coins, and the proposed cash denomination was abandoned before reaching general issue, leaving these trial pieces as the only physical record of the denomination's brief consideration.