I bought this one mainly for the charming portrait and the attractively toned surfaces. Not an expensive purchase, but a happy one! Looks like that reverse die was just about ready to disintegrate! BRITISH HONG KONG Time of Victoria, 1837-1901 CU Cent (27.5mm, 7.53g, 12h) Dated 1876. Royal mint, London, UK Obverse: VICTORIA QUEEN, crowned bust of Queen Victoria left Reverse: Chinese value within beaded circle; HONG – KONG above, * ONE CENT 1876 * below References: Numista 5657 Mintage: 1,000,000 Attractively toned copper surfaces with worn highlights. Hong Kong came under British rule in 1841 in the aftermath of the First Opium War, which was fought by the British (notably the East India Company) in order to protect their highly lucrative trade of opium in China. In 1842 the Treaty of Nanking was signed, which ceded Hong Kong in perpetuity to the British. Control of the territory remained in British hands until 1997. Thanks for taking a look! Feel free to comment and/or share your own coins of British Hong Kong or whatever else you feel like!
Yeah, I like the coin very much too. The design, especially of Victoria, is very appealing. I did notice the faint die cracks on the reverse but they look to be in the beginning stages and not yet serious. Time for a new die though. Bruce
Very attractive Victoria copper! I don't have anything quite as nice from HK for Victoria. Here are a couple I had a photo of. And some other Victorias from other parts of the world:
That's the understatement of the week. That obverse is stunning, and the color and surfaces on the coin look great. In some ways I'd rather have an eye-appealing AU coin like this than a typical generic-quality MS example.
These were part of the 1901 British Empire collection I built for my daughter, Victoria, who was born in 2001. They were the only denominations issued for Hong Kong in 1901. 1 cent, NGC MS63 RB 5 cents, NGC MS64 10 cents, NGC MS63
I like how Victoria stayed young on her coins for Hong Kong and India and a few other parts of the Empire. Even in 1901, the year of her death, they still used the Young Head. These HK issues, while not the same design, remind me a bit of the popular "Gothic" type florins and crowns. Here is a Gothic florin.
Lovely coins, @lordmarcovan! The portraits are very similar. A Gothic or Godless Florin is high on my wishlist, but I want one that is nicely toned and preferably one with original surfaces, like yours.
I just noticed with the 1901 HK pieces I posted above, the 1-cent and 10-cent pieces had the Young Head but the 5-cent piece had a more intermediate mature head (yet not quite the old widow’s head which she wore on homeland issues in that final year of her reign). Interesting: the many faces of Victoria.
Nice ones! My favourite is the Hong Kong 1866 - 1868 dollar and half dollars. Good mix of British and Chinese designs. Can't post pictures atm...
