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100 Dollars HSBC
| Issuer | Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1993-2002 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Large intaglio vignette of a lion's head in left profile occupies the left portion of the note, rendered in deep red on a light guilloche underprint. A multicolour cityscape vignette of Hong Kong harbour appears at centre-right as an underprint. The denomination and promise-to-pay legend are printed in bold letterpress at centre, with the issuing authority's name in both English and Chinese at top. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a central vignette of the HSBC headquarters building in Hong Kong flanked by the two bronze lion statues, Stephen and Stitt, that guard its entrance. A pagoda from Tiger Balm Garden appears at right. The composition is set against a light multicolour guilloche background. |
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| Comments |
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation's right to issue banknotes in Hong Kong is one of the more unusual arrangements in modern banking — a commercial institution, not a central bank, putting currency into circulation under licence from the government. During the period this series was issued, that arrangement survived the 1997 handover intact, with the three note-issuing banks continuing under essentially the same regulatory framework, now overseen by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority rather than the colonial administration.
Thomas De La Rue's involvement here is unremarkable by itself — they printed for HSBC throughout much of the twentieth century. What matters is the continuity: the same issuing privilege, the same printer, the same series number running across the sovereignty transfer without interruption.