Most silver Hong Kong coins that are bought and sold among collectors and vendors come from the early decades of Hong Kong’s coinage history, when it was a British colony and nearly all of its coins were silver. Silver Hong Kong coins are, as with most places in the coin-collecting world, much easier to find and more varied than the rarer gold coins that dealers offer from time to time. Whatever type of silver HK coins fit your collection, if you watch this section you can find them here.
The first silver coins from Hong Kong came in 1863, when the colony’s 10 cent silver coin was issued during the reign of Queen Victoria. By 1866, there were several denominations of silver coins available, to go along with the bronze 1-mil and 1-cent coins. The silver denominations of 1866 and later were 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, half dollar, and one dollar. In 1890, the half dollar was discontinued, technically, in favor of a 50-cent piece, also made of silver.
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Various silver coins were made as part of Hong Kong’s regular circulating coinage until the early 1930s, when nickel and copper began to take over during the reign of King George V. Throughout much of the twentieth century, HK coins were not generally available in silver.
However, one example of latter-day silver coinage from Hong Kong is the 2002 “Five Blessings” set, which were mostly silver with some gold plating in the center; these coins, each with a face value of $50, celebrated five years of Hong Kong being released from British colonial status and returning to the People’s Republic of China.
