50 Cents - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait

Hong Kong's currency administration sat in an unusual position during these years — the colonial government retained direct control over coin issuance while the note-issuing function remained split between two private banks, HSBC and the Chartered Bank. The 50-cent piece was a workhorse denomination in daily market transactions, particularly in the wet markets and tram fares that defined street-level commerce in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island through the late 1970s.

The nickel brass formula used here was selected partly for its resistance to the high humidity and salt-air corrosion endemic to the harbor city.