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50 Dollars
| Issuer | Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in purple and presents a horizontal format with an intricate floral and geometric border. A central vignette shows the corporation's arms flanked by two serial numbers, with the place of issue HONG KONG and date 1ST JANUARY 1901 printed below. The face value FIFTY DOLLARS appears in bold letterpress across the centre, with bilingual Chinese characters reading 伍拾圓 repeated along the lateral panels, and the promise-to-pay clause and Board of Directors authorization printed beneath the denomination. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION 香港上海滙豐銀行 HONG KONG 1ST JANUARY 1901 PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND AT ITS OFFICE HERE FIFTY DOLLARS OR THE EQUIVALENT IN THE CURRENCY OF THE ISLAND, VALUE RECEIVED By Order of the Board of Directors CHIEF MANAGER 拾伍 伍拾圓 |
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| Comments |
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation's early twentieth-century dollar notes occupied a peculiar legal position: HSBC held one of three note-issuing privileges in Hong Kong under the 1895 banking ordinance, and its notes circulated as de facto legal tender despite never carrying that formal designation. The 1901 date places this squarely in the period when the Bank was printing its own notes through Waterlow & Sons in London, shipping completed sheets to Hong Kong for signature and issue.
Hand-signed by authorized bank officers at the point of issue, with the signatures themselves now a primary means of narrowing the precise issue window within the series. Pick 152 is among the earliest surviving HSBC Hong Kong notes catalogued with any regularity.