Item number: A1943

Year: AD 1933

Material: Copper

Size: 21.9 x 21.9 x 4.5 mm

Weight: 4.0 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This is a copper coin with a face value of “One Cent,” issued in Hong Kong in AD 1933 when it was still a British colony. During the reign of King George V, the One Cent coin was minted in two different sizes: 22.0 and 27.5 mm in diameter. The specimen in this collection is the small version.

The obverse of the coin features a beaded rim, with a left-facing portrait of King George V wearing a crown at the centre. Below the portrait, there is a single bead. Surrounding the portrait, an inscription in a circular pattern reads “GEORGE V KING AND EMPEROR OF INDIA.”

The reverse of the coin features a toothed rim and a beaded circle. At the centre, the denomination and location are inscribed in Chinese characters in a top-bottom-right-left sequence: 「香港一仙」 (Hong Kong One Cent). On the outer edge, two circular dots separate the inscriptions. The upper edge bears the English inscription “HONG-KONG”, while the lower edge displays the denomination “ONE CENT” and the issuance year “1933.”

Since AD 1841, when Hong Kong became a British colony and a key trading post in the Far East, the earliest circulating currencies included Qing Dynasty copper cash, silver ingots, and Spanish silver coins. It was not until AD 1866 that Britain established a mint in Hong Kong, which also influenced the development of modern Chinese currency.

Under British rule, Hong Kong issued new coins whenever a new monarch ascended the throne. During the reign of King George V (AD 1910–1936), the colony minted coins in three denominations: One Cent, Five Cents and Ten Cents.

As the AD 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China approached, political considerations led the Hong Kong government in AD 1993 to discontinue coin designs featuring the British monarch’s portrait. Instead, a Bauhinia flower—a symbol with weaker political implications—was chosen for the new coin designs.

物件編號: A1943

年代: 公元 1933 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 21.9 x 21.9 x 4.5 mm

重量: 4.0 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

這是一枚公元1933年，彼時仍是英國殖民地的香港發行之面額「一仙」的銅幣。喬治五世時期鑄造的一仙有兩種尺寸，分別是直徑22.0和27.5 mm兩種尺寸，本藏品為小尺寸版本。

錢幣正面有一道齒邊，正中間是時任英國國王喬治五世戴著王冠的左側肖像。國王肖像下方有一粒珠點，周圍則以環形銘文標示國王的頭銜「GEORGE V KING AND EMPEROR OF INDIA」(喬治五世國王暨印度皇帝)。

錢幣背面有一道齒邊和珠圈，正中央是按照上、下、右、左順序以漢字標示地名和面額「香港一仙」。外圍的左右兩側各以一枚圓點作為分界，上緣以英文標示地名「HONG-KONG」(香港)，下緣則是面額「ONE CENT」(一分) 和發行年份「1933」。

自公元1841年，香港成為英國在遠東的殖民地和貿易據點後，最早流通的貨幣為清朝的銅錢銀條和西班牙銀幣，直到公元1866年，英國才在香港設立造幣廠並且也影響鄰近的中國近代貨幣發展。香港在英國統治下會隨著君王登基發行新的貨幣，喬治五世統治期間發行過：一仙、五仙和一毫，上述三種面額的硬幣。公元1993年為應對四年後香港主權將回歸中國的政治變局，香港政府不再發行帶有英國女王頭像的硬幣，而是以政治意涵較為薄弱的洋紫荊花作為設計。