1 Cent HKD #247

Front

Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth from 1952 until her death. This portrait depicts her as a young monarch, used on Hong Kong colonial currency throughout her reign. The note bears bilingual inscriptions in English and Chinese, stating it is legal tender for payments not exceeding one dollar, reflecting Hong Kong's status as a British Crown Colony.

Back

Plain, unprinted reverse. These small denomination notes were printed uniface (single-sided) as a cost-saving measure for fractional currency intended for everyday small transactions.

History

This 1 cent note belongs to the Government of Hong Kong small change series, issued alongside 5 and 10 cent denominations. These fractional notes were introduced to address coin shortages and facilitate small transactions. The signature of H. Macleod as Financial Secretary dates this variety to 1971–1976. These uniface notes remained in circulation until 1995 when small change notes were discontinued prior to the 1997 handover to China. Despite their low face value, they circulated widely in Hong Kong's cash-based economy.