50 Dollars H.S.B.C.

Bradbury, Wilkinson's intaglio work for HSBC during this period was among the finest commercial banknote printing produced anywhere in the world, and the quality of impression on P#175 reflects a contract relationship between the bank and that Surrey firm that ran for decades. The $50 denomination placed this note firmly in the commercial and merchant banking tier — not daily wage currency, but the kind of note that moved between trading houses, compradore firms, and accounts settled along the China coast.

Notes from this series are found with a range of branch signatures, and identifying the specific signing combination tightens the date range considerably within the 1927–1934 window. Ink oxidation and paper browning are common; the stock Bradbury Wilkinson used for this series is prone to toning at the edges.