5 Cents - George VI

KM#20 marks the first year of George VI coinage for Hong Kong, struck following Edward VIII's abdication in December 1936 — an abdication so abrupt that Edward VIII Hong Kong coinage never reached circulation. The colonial mint contracts were simply redirected to the new king's effigy without interruption to supply.

Nickel coinage in Hong Kong faced persistent hoarding pressure through the late 1930s as Japanese military expansion across China unsettled regional commerce. Many small-denomination pieces were melted or disappeared into private savings well before the 1941 occupation, which suspended British colonial coinage entirely.