14/3/2012 – 4/6/2012

Special Exhibition Gallery

Presented by Leisure and Cultural Services Department

In collaboration with Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Supporting organisations
Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited,
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited,
Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited.

Organised by Hong Kong Museum of History

Hong Kong was first to establish the "yuan" as the unit of currency. In 1846, the Oriental Bank Corporation issued Hong Kong's first banknotes and bearers of the notes could exchange them for silver dollars. In 1863, the Hong Kong Government imported coins from Britain. They went into circulation in the following year and became Hong Kong's first coins. The emergence of the above-mentioned notes and coinage marked the birth of Hong Kong's currency, and both types of currency were produced locally. Between 1866 and 1868, the Hong Kong Government had set up the Hong Kong Mint. Coins were minted in Hong Kong at one time, but only for a period of two years. In 1984, the De La Rue Company Limited set up a note printing factory in Hong Kong, undertaking printing work of all of Hong Kong's paper money. The factory was acquired by the Hong Kong Government in 1996 and renamed Hong Kong Note Printing Limited.

This exhibition showcased a wide range of exhibits, including Hong Kong coinage and notes from different time periods, trial coins, tools for minting circulated coins, plaster models of commemorative coins, design drawings of banknotes, trial notes, plates for printing banknotes, uncut sheets of banknotes and more. Over 700 artefacts, along with fascinating historical images and videos, present visitors with pictures of the eras in which different types of currency emerged in Hong Kong. The exhibits, intricately related to Hong Kong people's everyday lives, showed how the purchasing power of currencies have changed over the years.