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5 Dollars
| Issuer | The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1904 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Hong Kong Dollar (1863-date) |
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| Obverse description | Green intaglio-printed note with the bank's name in English along the top arc and Chinese characters running vertically along both lateral margins. A central vignette presents the bank's heraldic arms flanked by serial numbers repeated twice, with the issuing place 'HONG KONG' and date at centre. The denomination 'FIVE DOLLARS' is rendered in bold letterpress below, with a bearer clause and a directorial authority clause in smaller type. Two manuscript signatures appear below, identified in print as Chief Accountant and Chief Manager, above a lower panel bearing 'HONG KONG' in ornate lettering. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION HONG KONG 1ST MAY 1904 PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND AT ITS OFFICE HERE FIVE DOLLARS OR THE EQUIVALENT IN THE CURRENCY OF THE ISLAND, VALUE RECEIVED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHIEF ACCOUNTANT CHIEF MANAGER HONG KONG 香港上海滙豐銀行 伍 伍圓 |
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| Comments |
The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation's right to issue notes in Hong Kong rested on an 1845 ordinance that predated the bank itself — HSBC was founded in 1865 and simply inherited that framework. By 1904 the bank was already the dominant note-issuing institution in the colony, with its currency functioning more reliably in daily commerce than many government-backed issues elsewhere in the region.
Pick 156 is among the earlier dated issues in the HSBC Hong Kong series and survivors in any condition are genuinely uncommon. Cotton substrate notwithstanding, nearly 120 years of humidity and tropical storage conditions have claimed most examples.