Hong Kong one-mil coin


The one mil coin was the smallest denomination of the Hong Kong dollar from 1863 to 1866, after this date it was no longer issued but may have circulated much longer. Its value was one tenth of a cent, or a thousandth of a dollar. Despite being minted under British rule by the Royal Mint, they did not feature the reigning monarch as all other coins did, due to the hole in the middle.

Design

The obverse had denomination and country name in the English language. It featured the British crown and the initials 'VR' for Victoria Regina. While coins of the pound sterling have the royal title written in Latin, this is the only use of Latin on British Hong Kong coins. Royal titles were written in English on its other coins.
The reverse had the denomination and country name written in the Chinese language. During the period 1863-1866, the characters on this side was written as Hong Kong One-wen, resembling the Chinese currency of cash at that time period. Among which, the 1866 One-wen is regarded as one of the rarest sample in Hong Kong coinage. Later on in 1866, the Chinese characters was altered to Hong Kong One-thousand, indicating the value of a thousandth of a dollar.

Mintages

Hong Kong One-wen variation

1863: 19,000,000
1864: Unknown
1865: 40,000,000
1866: Unknown

Hong Kong One-thousand variation

1866: 20,000,000