Catalog
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!
| Issuer | The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923-1925 |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 壹 行銀豐匯海上港香 1 THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION HONG KONG, 1st January, 1923. PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND ONE DOLLAR LOCAL CURRENCY AT ITS OFFICE HERE, VALUE RECEIVED. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHIEF MANAGER CHIEF ACCT No. A531802 No. A531802 1 HONG KONG 壹 BRADBURY, WILKINSON & CO LD ENGRAVERS, NEW MALDEN SURREY, ENGLAND. |
| Reverse description | Purple. A central vignette shows a seated goddess holding a lyre, rendered in intaglio. The denomination appears four times around the design — twice in Arabic numerals and twice in Traditional Chinese — with bilingual geographic inscriptions in English and Chinese flanking the central composition. |
| 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 |
Bradbury Wilkinson printed this series during a period when HSBC's Hong Kong dollar notes were not legal tender in any formal statutory sense — the colonial government had no obligation to accept them, yet they circulated without serious challenge because the bank's standing made the question largely academic. The 1923–1925 dating reflects consecutive printings rather than a single run; distinguishing between them typically comes down to serial prefix ranges rather than any visible typographic change.
P#171 is moderately scarce in the upper grades. The paper of this era is known to brown unevenly with age, and horizontal fold lines through the center are nearly universal on circulated examples.