The silver dollar bears the inscription HONG KONG. On the obverse, Queen Victoria faces left. The reverse features a Chinese labyrinth pattern in the center. This coin was not minted in London, but at a new mint on Causeway Bay. It opened on May 7, 1866, and closed on April 25, 1868. [1] [4]
This marked the end of operations, but not the end of the story of its technology. Machines, plans, and experts from Hong Kong became part of the development of the modern Japanese Mint in Osaka. One of the French presses acquired at that time now stands in front of the Japan Mint Museum. [10] [12]
Short answer: What was the Hong Kong Mint?
The Hong Kong Mint was a state-run mint in the British colony of Hong Kong. It was established in 1864 by colonial decree and was under the supervision of the Master of the Royal Mint in London. From 1866 to 1868, it minted silver coins of 5, 10, and 20 cents, as well as half dollars and dollars. The project lost more than $500,000. Changing market conditions, unsuitable machinery, and insufficient production capacity all contributed to its failure. After its closure, some of the equipment and several employees were transferred to Osaka. [1] [3] [6] [10] [12]
The short history in six dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| February 26, 1864 | A colonial decree establishes the legal basis for the mint. [1] |
| May 7, 1866 | The Hong Kong Mint officially opens for business. [1] |
| September 15, 1866 | Hong Kong dollars and half dollars are introduced as legal tender in the colony. They supplement the dollars already in circulation. [1] |
| 1867 | The mint produces, among other things, a Tael pattern for Shanghai featuring the British coat of arms and a Chinese dragon. [9] |
| April 25, 1868 | The factory closes after less than two full years of production. [1] |
| April 4, 1871 | The Japan Mint in Osaka opens. Equipment and expertise from Hong Kong are part of its history. [10] [11] [12] |
A dollar of its own for a market full of currencies
Hong Kong’s monetary system in the mid-19th century was not closed. Spanish and Mexican silver dollars, Indian rupees, British gold coins, Chinese copper coins, and silver sold by weight circulated side by side. The Mexican dollar was particularly familiar. It was checked, weighed, and, if necessary, stamped with small countermarks. [1] [2]
This presented a practical problem for the colonial government. A large portion of its revenues and obligations were calculated in dollars. However, the Mexican dollar had to be obtained over long distances and could at times command a significant premium over its pure silver value. Governor Hercules Robinson therefore proposed a local mint. It would convert delivered silver into British dollars bearing the image of Queen Victoria and cover its costs through a minting fee of approximately one and a half percent. [1]
The new dollar was intended to be more than just local small change. Robinson hoped for acceptance in China’s treaty ports and in Japan. At the same time, the government would no longer be dependent on a foreign trade currency. The project combined monetary policy, colonial administration, and the expectation of a profitable industrial enterprise.
A branch of the Royal Mint with a colonial account
Collection catalogues often refer to the operation as the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Mint. This is factually justified. The British Treasury explicitly required control and supervision by the Master of the Royal Mint. The dies for dollars and half dollars were cut in London. However, the costs, personnel, and losses were borne by the colonial government in Hong Kong. [1] [4] [5]
Thomas William Kinder was appointed director. He had experience with railways and machinery, but initially no established career in metallurgy or minting. His brother, Arthur Kinder, who had worked as a draftsman at the Royal Mint, drew up plans for the facility. The site at Causeway Bay was built on reclaimed land. A wall, guards, and even a gunboat anchored in front of the facility were intended to protect the silver. [1]
Archives show that the buildings are not based solely on old descriptions. The Government Records Service in Hong Kong lists two plans of the mint dating from 1864. Mizuta’s research also identifies floor plans and elevations of the complex in British archives. [12] [13]
The opening began with silver and stagnation.
On opening day, there was plenty of metal available. According to a contemporary account analyzed by Kevin MacKeown, there was enough silver to last two million dollars. The mint had waived the minting fee for the first two months. Banks and dealers responded with large deliveries. [1]
Production failed to capitalize on this initial confidence. Shortly before the opening, a heavy drive belt snapped in the rolling mill. Even more critical were the four presses supplied from Birmingham by James Watt & Co. They were not powerful enough to handle the large dollar. Later, a more powerful French press was added. In the first three weeks, instead of the hoped-for high daily output, barely more than $18,000 was produced. The delivered silver remained tied up, and owners withdrew their holdings. [1]
A distinction is important here. A machine manufacturer, a mint, and the state represented on a coin are not the same thing. The article about the Birmingham Mint illustrates this with other examples. The Hong Kong presses of James Watt & Co. do not become products of the Heaton Mint simply because both companies operated in Birmingham.
Which coins were actually minted in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Mint’s regular coin production focused on silver. Its issues can be divided into small subsidiary coins and large dollar pieces. In addition, there were prototypes designed to attract new orders and broader acceptance.
| Nominal | Classification | Important NOTE |
|---|---|---|
| 5 cents | Small silver coin made from an alloy containing 800/1000 silver | The Hong Kong Mint minted 5, 10 and 20 cent coins during its operating period from 1866 to 1868. [6] |
| 10 cents | Small silver coin, whose denomination existed before the local mint. | Until 1866, it came from London. During local production, it was minted in Hong Kong. After the closure, production returned to Great Britain. [7] |
| 20 cents | Small silver coin featuring Queen Victoria and Chinese denomination | A specimen from 1866 at Museums Victoria measures 23 millimeters and weighs 5.341 grams. [6] |
| Half Dollar | Large silver coin with the same basic design as the dollar. | The museum specimen from 1866 measures 32 millimeters and weighs 13.404 grams. [5] |
| $1 | The project’s central trading coin | The museum specimen from 1866 measures 38 millimeters and weighs 26.926 grams. [4] |
| 1 Tael Shanghai | Pattern from 1867 and not a regular circulating coin | The British coat of arms and the Chinese dragon were intended to promote a contract or approval in China. [9] |
The dollar and half dollar feature the left-facing portrait of Queen Victoria. Leonard Charles Wyon adapted a portrait medal by William Theed for this purpose. Ornament designer Owen Jones created the Chinese labyrinth pattern on the reverse. Wyon cut the dies in London. For regular dollar coins, the die was then cut in Hong Kong. [4] [5]
Not every piece bearing Hong Kong and the year 1866 originates from the local mint. The perforated 1 mil note of 1866 was minted in London. Museums Victoria also holds dollar proofs of 1866 that were probably minted in London, while the regular issues came from Hong Kong. The year, issuing state, and mint must therefore be checked separately. [8] [4] [15]
Why the Hong Kong Mint failed
A common oversimplification is that Chinese traders rejected the new dollar. This explanation is too simplistic. MacKeown’s research considers several causes and shows that the economic conditions had already changed before the mint opened. [1]
The Mexican dollar lost its high premium.
When Robinson planned the project, unstamped Mexican dollars were scarce and expensive. By 1864, their supply had improved. Demand in Japan declined, and the price in Shanghai approached the pure silver value. This reduced the margin from which the Hong Kong Mint intended to finance its minting fee and high fixed costs. Raw silver remained accepted in Chinese trade anyway. [1]
The mint couldn’t strike coins fast enough.
The business model required large quantities. However, the English presses were too slow with the dollar coins and initially produced inconsistent results. A later observer considered the French press to be significantly better. A single good press, however, did not solve the capacity problem. Because customers feared waiting months for their silver, they withdrew their deliveries. [1]
Trust could not be mandated.
The dollar and half dollar became legal tender in Hong Kong in September 1866. Other dollars, however, remained in circulation. The government did not want to immediately displace the familiar Mexican dollar and initially could not have supplied enough of its own coins. Furthermore, there were complaints about weight variations, counterfeit coins, and stolen dies. This hampered a product whose success depended precisely on rapid recognition and trust. [1]
Finally, conflicts arose over personnel, costs, and management. MacKeown considers the lack of technical equipment a significant factor in the failure, without claiming it as the sole cause. The changing silver market undermined the plan’s economic foundation. At the same time, weak production prevented the new dollar from quickly entering widespread circulation. Habits and trust exacerbated both problems.
In the end, the losses totaled more than $500,000. [1]
The dragon that didn’t save the mint
In 1867, the Hong Kong Mint attempted to expand its business with a coin denominated in Chinese weights and measures. The design for a Tael Shanghai features the crowned British coat of arms on one side. The other side depicts a dragon within a band of Chinese characters. Unlike the dollar stamps, the design and die for this coin were executed in Hong Kong. Samples were sent to Beijing, but approval for its intended use was not obtained. [9]
This piece is particularly revealing because it never became a regular circulating coin. It documents the attempt to adapt a colonial mint to the Chinese market. A familiar unit of weight and a Chinese motif were not enough to overcome the economic and political obstacles.
From Causeway Bay to Osaka
In the autumn of 1867, Thomas Kinder traveled to Shanghai and Tokyo. He was looking for commissions and a buyer for the mint. In February 1868, permission to close the mint arrived from London. Operations ceased on April 25. In June, the machinery was sold to the Japanese government. [1]
What happened next was more than just the transport of some used equipment. Architectural historian Susumu Mizuta documents a transfer of people, machinery, and plans from the former Hong Kong Mint. Dealers from Glover & Co. and Jardine Matheson facilitated this transition. Kinder later became the director of the Japanese mint. Japan supplemented the acquired equipment and developed a significantly more successful operation in Osaka. [1] [12]
The Japan Mint was officially opened on April 4, 1871, and began operations with Western industrial equipment. Early coins included gold coins for the Japanese currency system introduced in 1871, which used the yen as its unit. A French Thonnelier press now stands in front of its museum. According to the official description, it was part of the machinery purchased from the closed Hong Kong Mint in 1868. Initially, it minted gold and silver coins, and later copper coins. [10] [11]
The press coverage is therefore not proof that Osaka adopted the Hong Kong mint unchanged. It is something more interesting. It shows how technology from a failed colonial project continued to operate in a new political and industrial context.
What remained at the former location
The Hong Kong Mint was located on Causeway Bay. After its closure, the buildings and land passed to Jardine Matheson. From 1878, the China Sugar Refinery operated there. This facility also later disappeared. City in Time places Windsor House and Hang Lung Centre on the former site today. [14]
No complete historical industrial complex of the mint remains. However, its location can be reconstructed using plans, photographs, and administrative records. The Government Records Service specifically mentions the 1864 plans in its overview of holdings from the 1860s. [13]
The most visible remnants are thus widely scattered. The coins are in collections. Plans are in archives. A printing press is located in Osaka. From a business that operated for only two years, a trail has emerged connecting Hong Kong, London, and Japan.
What collectors can learn from history
For coins from Hong Kong around 1866, the year alone is not sufficient for a definitive identification. A 1 mil coin from 1866 originated in London. A regular dollar of the same year could have come from the Hong Kong Mint. A proof coin with the same design, however, could have been minted in London. The denomination, minting method, die variant, documented place of manufacture, and specific catalog reference are all relevant for identification. [4] [8] [15]
The designation “Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Mint” does not replace this verification. It describes the institutional connection, but not a mint mark on the individual coin. Regular Hong Kong dollars do not bear their own small mark that identifies their mint as easily as the “H” on certain Heaton coins.
With examples like the 1867 Tael, another layer of complexity comes into play. They document an unrealized plan and do not belong in a list of regular circulating coins. Rarity, condition, and authenticity must be examined on a case-by-case basis. The mint’s history explains its significance but makes no predictions about future value.
Conclusion: The mint disappeared, its working capital moved on.
What remains of a mint when it disappears? In the case of the Hong Kong Mint, the answer isn’t just coins. What remains is a dollar design featuring a British portrait and Chinese ornamentation, an unintroduced Tael pattern, archived blueprints, and a machine that continued minting coins in Osaka.
The mint itself was a financial failure. It arrived too late for the market conditions on which its calculations were based and was technically incapable of delivering the necessary quantities quickly. But the machinery, plans, and personnel were not simply lost. Much like the historic Oom Paul press, some of the technology outlived the operation for which it had originally been acquired. In Hong Kong, the experiment ended in 1868. In Osaka, it was given a second life starting in 1871.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Hong Kong Mint
When did the Hong Kong Mint operate?
It opened on 7 May 1866 and closed on 25 April 1868. The legal basis had already been established on 26 February 1864. [1]
Was the Hong Kong Mint a branch of the Royal Mint?
Yes. At the time, it was under the control and supervision of the Master of the Royal Mint. Collection catalogues refer to it as the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Mint. It was financed and operated by the colonial government in Hong Kong. [1] [4]
Which coins were minted in Hong Kong?
The regular program included silver coins of 5, 10, and 20 cents, as well as half dollars and dollars. In addition, prototypes were produced, including a Tael Shanghai with a dragon in 1867. [4] [5] [6] [9]
Why was the mint closed so quickly?
There was no single cause. The premium to the Mexican dollar had already fallen sharply before the opening. At the same time, the mint could not produce coins quickly enough due to its technical and organizational problems. Limited acceptance, doubts about weight and quality, and counterfeits further hampered the launch. [1]
What happened to the machines?
The Japanese government purchased the machinery in 1868. Equipment, plans, and experts from Hong Kong were incorporated into the establishment of the Japan Mint in Osaka. A French press from this collection now stands in front of the museum there. [10] [12]
Did every Hong Kong coin from 1866 originate from the Hong Kong Mint?
No. A 1 mil note from 1866, for example, was minted in London. Museums Victoria also lists London as the likely place of manufacture for dollar proofs from 1866. The specific minting method and catalogue reference are therefore more important than the year alone. [8] [15]
About the author
Dirk Wasserthal is co-founder and managing director of Wasserthal RareCoin.Store. He specializes in modern numismatic gold coins, rare years, certified collector coins, and the history of their mints and markets.
Transparency note
Wasserthal RareCoin.Store deals in rare modern gold coins. This article provides historical and numismatic context for the Hong Kong Mint and its coins. The coins mentioned are historical examples and do not represent any prediction of the future value of individual pieces.
Sources and further documents
[1] P. Kevin MacKeown: The Hong Kong Mint, 1864 to 1868 , Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Volume 47, 2007, pages 41 to 79. The central scholarly study on the founding, technology, personnel, market conditions, losses, closure, and sale of equipment. Its analysis of administrative records allows for a more nuanced explanation of the failure than the blanket thesis of Chinese rejection.
[2] Hong Kong Monetary Authority: History and Evolution of Coins in Hong Kong . Official overview of the monetary history and the introduction of Hong Kong’s own coins before and during local coinage.
[3] Hong Kong Museum of History: Hong Kong Currency . Official exhibition page. Confirms the local minting operations of the Hong Kong Mint from 1866 to 1868.
[4] Museums Victoria: 1 Dollar, Hong Kong, 1866, NU 12980 . Object record of a regular coin from the Hong Kong Mint with description, dimensions and attribution of the designers involved.
[5] Museums Victoria: Half Dollar, Hong Kong, 1866, NU 12994 . Object record of the large silver coin and the joint design of the Half Dollar and Dollar.
[6] Museums Victoria: 20 Cents, Hong Kong, 1866, NU 13000 . Object record. He assigns the local 5, 10 and 20 cent coins to a silver alloy with a fineness of 800/1000 and explains their character as subsidiary coins.
[7] Museums Victoria: 10 Cents, Hong Kong, 1863, NU 13013 . The record distinguishes the London production until 1866, the local minting from 1866 to 1868 and the later return of production to Great Britain.
[8] Museums Victoria: 1 Mil, Hong Kong, 1866, NU 13088. This document proves that this perforated bronze piece was made at the Royal Mint in London. It serves in the article as a counter-example to an attribution based solely on the country of issue and year.
[9] Museums Victoria: Pattern 1 Tael Shanghai, Hong Kong, 1867, NU 24434. Object record for the pattern designed and minted in Hong Kong with the British coat of arms and Chinese dragon. The page also links to the record of a dollar proof, probably produced in London.
[10] Japan Mint: Thonnelier minting press in the outdoor area of the museum . Official Japanese object description. The Japan Mint mentions the acquisition of the Hong Kong machinery in 1868 for 60,000 ryō and describes the later use of the French press for gold, silver, and copper.
[11] Japan Mint: History . Official English account of the founding of the mint in Osaka, the opening ceremony on April 4, 1871, and the importance of the imported Western industrial equipment.
[12] Susumu Mizuta: Making a Mint , Architectural History, Volume 62, 2019, pages 89 to 111. The study uses British and Japanese archives to document the transfer of people, machines and plans from the former Hong Kong Mint to Osaka and the mediation by Glover & Co. and Jardine Matheson.
[13] Government Records Service Hong Kong: Recording Hong Kong, 1860s . Official inventory with designs for Hong Kong coins from 1863 and two plans of the Hong Kong Mint from 1864.
[14] City in Time: Tai Hang and the China Sugar Refinery . Locates the mint at Causeway Bay and describes the later use of the site by Jardine Matheson, the sugar refinery, and the present-day buildings Windsor House and Hang Lung Centre.
[15] Museums Victoria: Proof 1 Dollar, Hong Kong, 1866, NU 12979 . The object record lists London as the likely place of manufacture of the proofs and distinguishes them from the regular coins of the Hong Kong Mint.
Editorial status: September 4, 2026.
