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1 Dollar - Victoria Trial Strike
| Issuer | Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| Year | 1865-1866 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | VICTORIA QUEEN |
| Reverse description | Central design featuring an elaborate circular Chinese maze or key-fret motif enclosing a decorative medallion, with Chinese characters for 'Hong Kong One Dollar' arranged in the four cardinal positions around the central device. The English legend ONE DOLLAR appears across the upper portion of the field, and HONG KONG along the lower portion, with the date 1865 at the bottom. The entire composition is framed by a continuous Chinese geometric key-fret border matching that of the obverse, reflecting the intended bilingual and bicultural character of this trial strike for Hong Kong commerce. |
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| Additional information |
Hong Kong's colonial administration spent much of the mid-1860s wrestling with the question of a local dollar to compete with the Spanish and Mexican pesos then dominating trade circulation in the colony. The Royal Mint produced multiple pattern and trial strikes across 1865–66 as part of this evaluation, none of which led immediately to an adopted coinage — the project stalled, and Hong Kong would not see a circulating silver dollar until 1866, itself a short-lived issue discontinued the following year under pressure from merchants who simply preferred the familiar Mexican piece.
The several KM pattern numbers reflect distinct die combinations tested during this period. Surviving examples are overwhelmingly in institutional collections.