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5 Dollars
| Issuer | Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1867 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in olive-green tones on white cotton paper within a fine guilloche border with Chinese characters along both vertical margins reading 香港上海滙理銀行. Two dark oval panels in the upper corners each bear the denomination '$5', flanking a central crowned arms vignette above the serial number 'No' printed twice in the upper field with a handwritten date. The full issuer title 'THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION' runs in bold letterpress across the centre, with a promise-to-pay text in smaller type below, and manuscript signatures of the Accountant and Manager appear beneath the printed legend 'By Order of the Board of Directors'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 香港上海滙理銀行 THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION Promises to pay the Bearer on demand at their establishment FIVE DOLLARS By Order of the Board of Directors Acc. Manager. HONG KONG |
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| Comments |
The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation was incorporated under a special Hong Kong ordinance in 1865 — just two years before this note was issued — making this among the earliest paper currency the bank ever put into circulation. Ashby & Company in London handled the printing, which was typical for colonial banking institutions at the time: design and production contracted out to British trade printers, then shipped east for issue.
At this date HSBC had no formal charter from Westminster; it operated under local colonial authority, a legal arrangement that would remain unresolved for decades. Notes from this 1867 series are extraordinarily rare in any condition — institutional records suggest very few have survived outside of specialist collections and major auction houses.