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1 Dollar
| Issuer | Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1884 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black on white paper with a red underprint, with the issuer's title in bold letterpress across the centre reading 'THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION'. Chinese characters reading 香港上海滙理銀行 are displayed along the top border, with 壹員repeated vertically on each side margin. A central vignette of the bank's coat of arms flanked by two circular guilloche rosettes with red '$1' numerals is positioned above the promise-to-pay text, with the denomination and place of issue 'HONG KONG' inscribed below; the note bears manuscript date, serial number, and two manuscript signatures above printed role titles 'Acct.' and 'Chief Manager'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in red ink and dominated by a large central vignette of the bank's heraldic coat of arms supported by two lions, surrounded by an elaborate guilloche framework of interlocking floral rosettes and scrollwork. Four circular corner medallions each bear the numeral '1', while the curved legends 'THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI' and 'BANKING CORPORATION' arc around the upper and lower portions of the design respectively, with 'ONE' inscribed within the left and right lateral medallions. |
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| Comments |
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation began printing its own notes locally from the early 1880s, a deliberate operational choice given the logistical difficulties of ordering from British printers and waiting months for delivery. This 1884 dollar is among the earliest examples of that locally-produced series, at a time when the bank was still consolidating its position as the de facto central bank of Hong Kong — a role never formally conferred but practically unavoidable given the colonial government's reluctance to establish its own note-issuing authority.
Surviving examples from this year are genuinely uncommon. The 1880s issues suffered heavy attrition through daily commercial use in treaty port trade, and few were preserved intentionally.