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50 Dollars
| Issuer | Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1905 |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark green and black intaglio on white paper, with a central vignette of a classical female bust in profile set within an ornate oval frame, flanked left by the bank's armorial shield and right by a mountainous harbour vignette. The header reads THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION in bold letterpress, with the denomination FIFTY DOLLARS rendered in large guilloche-framed text at centre, and bilingual Chinese characters 伍拾圓 repeated in the corner rosettes. A large red SPECIMEN overprint appears diagonally across the face, with manuscript-style text noting the promise to pay and the date HONGKONG, 1st January, 1905, by order of the Board of Directors, accompanied by printed signature lines for Chief Accountant and Chief Manager. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION FIFTY DOLLARS Promise to pay the Bearer This note is the Currency of the Colony. Value received. HONGKONG, 1st January, 1905 By order of the BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHIEF ACCOUNTANT CHIEF MANAGER SPECIMEN 伍拾圓 伍拾 |
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| Comments |
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation's early twentieth-century dollar notes occupied an unusual legal position — HSBC was one of three note-issuing commercial banks in Hong Kong operating under colonial charter, with no central bank backstopping the currency. Each note was a direct liability of the bank itself, redeemable at its counters.
The 1905 series predates the 1935 Currency Ordinance that forced standardization across Hong Kong's note-issuing banks. P#162A is among the rarest of the pre-reform HSBC issues at this denomination — fifty-dollar notes saw far less daily handling than smaller values, and survivors from this period are overwhelmingly institutional holdovers rather than circulated pieces.