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50 Dollars
| Issuer | Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890-1898 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in purple and pink tones on a guilloche underprint ground. The issuer's title 'THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION.' runs in bold letterpress across the central band, flanked by two '$50' denomination ovals at upper left and right. The corporation's crowned arms vignette occupies the centre top, with serial number 'No.' repeated twice on either side. Chinese characters reading '香港上海匯豐銀行' appear along the top margin and '五拾圓' vertically at left and right. The note bears a manuscript date, a promise-to-pay text, and two manuscript signatures above the imprint 'Engraved by Barclay & Fry De La Rue London' at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION. HONG KONG FIFTY DOLLARS By Order of the Board of Directors. Chief Acct. Chief Manager. 香港上海匯豐銀行 五拾圓 港香 |
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| Comments |
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation turned to Barclay & Fry — a firm later absorbed into De La Rue — for this late-Victorian series, a common arrangement for British colonial banking issues of the period. HSBC had been printing notes through London contractors since its founding in 1865, and this series continued that practice through the final years of the century.
The $50 denomination was serious money in 1890s Hong Kong — well beyond the daily wage of most residents — meaning these circulated almost exclusively in commercial and inter-bank transactions. Low-denomination attrition kept these largely out of common hands, which paradoxically means survivors often show less wear than the smaller values.