Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Dollar
| Issuer | Hong Kong Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | This is a notable overprint issue: a Japanese Military Administration note (1000 Yen) has been overprinted in red with the legends ONE DOLLAR, $1, and HONG KONG GOVERNMENT, along with a strikethrough overprint in Chinese characters cancelling the original Japanese inscription 大日本帝國政府. The underlying note retains its original orange-on-yellow intaglio design, with a vignette of a traditional Japanese gate structure to the left and a portrait of a crowned figure in imperial regalia to the right, enclosed within an ornate guilloche border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse retains the original Japanese Military note design, printed in orange on cream paper. The central field bears large Chinese characters 軍用手票 (Military Currency) flanked by two ornate medallion vignettes containing the character 千 (one thousand) and 圓 (yen/dollar). The numeral 1000 appears at the foot, and a decorative floral cartouche with the imperial chrysanthemum crest surmounts the composition, all enclosed within an elaborate guilloche border. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
This note was printed in advance by the British authorities and held in readiness for the liberation of Hong Kong from Japanese occupation. When the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, the existing wartime currency — Military Yen issued by the Japanese administration — needed immediate replacement. These pre-printed notes were rushed into circulation to fill that void, alongside pre-war Hong Kong dollar notes that had been suppressed since 1941.
The 1945 date distinguishes it from superficially similar issues in the series. It was a transitional instrument, intended to restore a functioning currency fast rather than to make a lasting design statement.