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5 Dollars
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse presents the Royal Arms vignette at centre top, flanked by two oval cartouches each inscribed FIVE DOLLARS, beneath the legend INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER in an arc. Chinese characters run vertically along both lateral borders, while the issuer's name THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION appears in bold letterpress across the centre. A manuscript promise-to-pay text in copperplate reads 'Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Office here Five Dollars Local Currency for Value received', with the date line inscribed HONG KONG and authority line BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER FIVE DOLLARS THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Office here Five Dollars Local Currency for Value received Hong Kong By order of the Court of Directors 東藩匯理銀行 |
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| Comments |
The Oriental Bank Corporation was the oldest of the British Eastern exchange banks, chartered in Bombay in 1842 and operating branches across India, Ceylon, Australia, and East Asia. By 1866 it was in serious difficulty — a Ceylonese coffee blight and a string of bad loans had begun the slow collapse that would end in the bank's suspension in 1884. Notes issued from the Hong Kong branch in this period were circulating against a balance sheet that was already under stress.
Hong Kong had no colonial government note issue until 1935, so chartered banks like the Oriental supplied the colony's paper currency by default. The bank's liquidation meant outstanding notes became claims against a failed estate — recovery for holders was partial at best.