Catalog
10 Dollars
| Issuer | Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1878 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Yes |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 10 INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER Penang 1st Jan. 1878 THE CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA, AUSTRALIA & CHINA Promises to pay the Bearer on Demand at its OFFICE here TEN DOLLARS in local currency for Value received. BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS Entd. Acct. MANAGER |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 10 THE CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA AUSTRALIA AND CHINA |
| 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 |
The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China held a royal charter originally granted in 1853, and its Hong Kong branch was among the earliest foreign banks operating under formal British banking law in the colony. By 1878, the bank was deeply embedded in the financing of opium, silk, and tea trades moving through treaty ports — these $10 notes would have passed through comprador offices and merchant houses rather than retail commerce.
Surviving 1878-dated examples from this series are genuinely rare. The bank's Hong Kong notes from this period suffered heavy losses in both the 1878 and 1883 financial crises that hit the colony's banking sector, and branch records suggest large quantities of partially-issued stock were destroyed rather than redeemed.