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5 Dollars
| Issuer | The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Green and orange bicolour note with a central vignette of the corporation's arms flanked by the serial number repeated twice. The upper portion carries the bank's name in English across the centre and in Chinese characters along the top border, with elaborate guilloche cornerpieces bearing the denomination numeral '5' and Chinese characters for 'five dollars'. The bearer clause, denomination in full, and date '1ST JANUARY 1901' are inscribed in letterpress across the lower central field, with two manuscript signature lines designated 'CHIEF ACCOUNTANT' and 'CHIEF MANAGER'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION 5 伍 |
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| Comments |
The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation was one of a handful of private banks legally authorized to issue banknotes in Hong Kong under colonial ordinance — a right HSBC retained well into the twentieth century. This 1901 five-dollar note predates the Corporation's first major design overhaul and was issued at a time when Hong Kong's monetary system ran on a complex parallel of British silver trade dollars, local coinage, and competing private bank paper.
Notes of this period are scarce in any grade. The tropical climate of Hong Kong was brutal on circulating paper, and institutional destruction of returned notes was routine. Pick 150 survivors typically show heavy handling consistent with active mercantile use along the China coast trade routes.