Hong Kong Mint () was a
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
that existed from 1866 to 1868. Located in
Cleveland Street,
Causeway Bay
Causeway Bay is an area and a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern and the Wan Chai districts. It is a major shopping, leisure and cultural centre in Hong Kong, with a number of major shopping centres. Th ...
, it is the first coin mint of Hong Kong. A Mint Dam, on the slope of
Mount Butler, was constructed to supply water to the mint.
In early
colonial Hong Kong, mixed currencies of various kinds were used. Although
sterling was the official currency, it was not well accepted by the merchants and residents , especially Chinese, in Hong Kong. Various silver currencies remained the medium of trade in the city.
In order to provide a steady supply of silver dollars in Hong Kong.
Hercules Robinson, the then-
Hong Kong Governor
The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...
, decided to found the Hong Kong Mint in 1864. The mint opened on 7May 1866 under the direction of the Master of the Mint, Thomas William Kinder
[Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch Vol 47 2007: "The Hong Kong Mint, 1864 - 1868: The History Of An Early Engineering Experiment by P. Kevin MacKeown] but closed in 1868 during
Richard MacDonnell's governorship. The reasons for this were the poor reception of the coins as well as continued debasement of the silver coins causing huge loss. The site was sold to
Jardine Matheson
Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (also known as Jardines) is a Hong Kong-based Bermuda-domiciled British multinational conglomerate. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange and ...
in 1868 and the mint machinery sold to the newly established
Japan Mint
The is an Independent Administrative Institution of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. The agency has its head office in Osaka with branches in Saitama and Hiroshima. The Japan Mint does not ...
in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
.
See also
*
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong ...
*
Sugar Street Sugar Street may refer to:
* ''Sugar Street'' (novel)
* Sugar Street (Hong Kong)
{{disambiguation ...
References
External links
The Hong Kong Early Currency and The Unsuccessful Hong Kong Mint (in Chinese)
{{Authority control
Government agencies established in 1866
Mints (currency)
Currencies of Hong Kong
1866 establishments in Hong Kong
1868 disestablishments in Hong Kong