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500 Dollars
| Issuer | Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Hong Kong Dollar (1863-date) |
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| Obverse description | Brown and blue bicolour note with the bank's heraldic arms supported by two lions occupying a central vignette set over a light guilloche underprint; the issuer's name arcs across the head in English, with Chinese characters 香港上海滙豐銀行 arranged vertically along both lateral borders. Denomination numerals 500 appear at each corner alongside Chinese script 伍百圓, while the date 1ST JANUARY 1901 and place of issue HONG KONG are positioned to either side of the central vignette. The promise text, two signature lines for CHIEF ACCT and CHIEF MANAGER, and a SPECIMEN perforation complete the face. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION BANKING CORPORATION 500 伍百圓 |
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| Comments |
Waterlow & Sons held the HSBC printing contract for decades, and the quality of intaglio work on early twentieth-century Hong Kong notes from this period reflects that relationship at its peak. The 1901 date places this note squarely in the years when HSBC operated under the 1866 Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ordinance — still the primary note-issuing bank in the colony, competing with the Chartered Bank and the aggressively expanding Mercantile Bank of India.
At $500, this was not a retail circulation note. Denominations at this level moved between merchants, comprador houses, and banks. Surviving examples are extremely rare; most were redeemed, cancelled, and pulped as a matter of routine treasury practice.