Guide To Hong Kong Bank Notes
Understanding the value of old money from Hong Kong requires knowing individual bank note issues from the ten different banks in Hong Kong that printed money between 1862 and 1960. Currency from Hong Kong is popular with both Chinese, English, and American collectors. Many of the bank notes were printed in London and then shipped to Hong Kong for circulation. As you can imagine, these bank notes literally wound up all over the world. In fact it is not uncommon for people to not ever realize they are dealing with paper money from Hong Kong. Most bank notes reference India, China, Japan, Hindustan, Shanghai, London, or Australia. You can see where the confusion comes into play.
Our guide has pictures and prices for most notes. Just click on a bank name below to learn more about its specific currency. Hopefully it will help you better understand the history and value of your exact bank note. Please contact us if you need a free appraisal or offer. We are always buying. As you will see in our guide below, we are most interested in buying antique Hong Kong bank notes printed before 1960.
The Agra & United Service Bank Limited
These bank notes were originally issued in 1862 for denominations ranging from $100 to $500. That was a tremendous amount of money in Hong Kong in the 1860s. The notes that were issued have likely mostly all be redeemed or destroyed. All we have left are some old proofs. These old bank notes will be of interest to the specialist, but probably not to the casual Hong Kong collector.
The Asiatic Banking Corporation Currency
These bank notes are not necessarily dated. Most have 18__ written on them. These are also extremely rare and you are not likely to encounter paper money this old from Hong Kong. Most collectors looking spend big money on old Hong Kong bank notes will probably focus on something more exotic. Click through for more value information.
The Bank of Hindustan China & Japan Currency
These bank notes were printed in 1863. These are all extremely rare bank notes. All you can reasonably expect to find today are remainders. Remainders may be interesting, but most collectors are focused on bank notes that were issued and circulated in old Hong Kong.
The Chartered Bank of India, Australia, & China Currency
Our guide for The Standard Chartered Bank begins in 1865 and covers bank notes printed up until the middle part of the 20th century. Currency from The Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China is generally considered to be the most attractive and most popular of all paper money issued for Hong Kong. Not all examples are extreme rarities, but plenty can be expensive. Click on the picture below of the link above for lots more pricing information. Contact us directly if you need a free appraisal. We are certainly interested buyers.
The Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London, & China Currency
Hong Kong bank notes from this institution are rarely available. Price guides usually just list them as rare without giving any further value information. Dates of issue range from 1858 to 1890. These are old and rare, but they probably are not the most popular type of currency from Hong Kong. Our guide has more value information.
The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Currency
Originally called the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Company, our guide covers bank notes issued by this institution from 1865 until the 1950s. Some can be quite rare and all of them are at least old. Please click through for more information about valuing your specific currency. Don’t forget that we are always interested buyers.
The Mercantile Bank of India Limited Currency
Our guide to Mercantile Bank of India paper money issued for Hong Kong covers the years 1912 to 1959. Many of these bank notes are available, but we certainly wouldn’t use the word common to describe all of them. Click the link above or the picture below for more value and price information.
The National Bank of China Limited
The theme of really rare bank notes continues with the issues from this bank. Only five and ten dollar notes from 1894 are likely to exist. Even ugly examples are worth thousands of dollars. Definitely contact us if you have one of these old Hong Kong bank notes for sale. These are some of our favorites.
The Oriental Bank Corporation Currency
These bank notes from Hong Kong date to the 1860s. This is not something you are likely to encounter today. All of this kind of paper money is very rare. Click through for more information.
The Government of Hong Kong Bank Notes
We really don’t cover much information about Hong Kong government issues in our guide here. We are mostly focused on the earlier over-sized bank notes from the chartered and private banks (that you see above). We can tell you that one dollar bills with George V are common, but still the scarcest for the type. Any Japanese looking bank notes with a stamped overprint that says Hong Kong Government could command a nice premium. Otherwise, most money from this time period is just too new and was printed in quantities large enough such that they don’t really have the chance to be worth much money to collectors.
