The ten-cent coin is the lowest-denomination circulating coin of the

Hong Kong dollar The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of Hong Kong. It is divided into 100 cents. Historically, it was also divided into 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong an ...

. With a diameter of and a mass of it is also the smallest in size and weight. It is the oldest coin denomination to still be in circulation in Hong Kong. Since its first issue in 1863, there has only been one period (1942–1947) where the coin was not in use.

History

Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the coin was first made of .800 purity silver, with a weight of , thickness of and diameter of with a reeded edge. The first ten-cent coin, issued in 1863, featured the portrait of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

on its obverse and was minted until the year of her death, 1901. Her successor, King

Edward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

then featured on the obverse from 1902 to 1905, despite reigning until 1910. In the early 1900s during China's currency reform, in some provinces of China, such as

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

, some residents and retailers refused Chinese 10-cent coins, and requested instead the "kwaitau", or "ghost's head" coin, a euphemism for the Hong Kong 10-cent coin. After a long period of no minting, the coin returned in 1935 and 1936 with King

George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

on its obverse. The dimnesons remained the same although the coin's composition was changed to copper-

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

. In 1937 the weight was changed to , diameter to , thickness to , and the composition to nickel as the portrait of King

George VI of the United Kingdom George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

was introduced to the obverse. In 1948 a new coin was issued for this denomination: a nickel-brass coin 20.57 mm in diameter, weighing 4.54 g and with a thickness of 1.85 mm and a plain edge. From 1948 to 1951, it bore the portrait of George VI on its obverse, without his title of Emperor of India, lost in 1947. In 1955, despite succeeding in 1952, the portrait of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

was first minted on the obverse. From 1937, onwards the coin featured a reeded security edge; this changed to a reeded edge in 1971. Because of its similarity in size and weight to the 50-cent piece, the ten-cent piece was redesigned with a plain edge from 1982. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by

Arnold Machin Arnold Machin OBE RA FRSS (; 30 September 1911 – 9 March 1999) was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer. Biography Machin was born Stoke-on-Trent in 1911. He started work at the age of 14 as an apprentice china ...

, introduced to the

coins of the pound sterling The standard circulating coinage of the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories is denominated in pennies and pounds sterling ( symbol "£", commercial GBP), and ranges in value from one penny sterling t ...

in 1968, was placed on the obverse. On 1 January 1984 the old ten-cent coin was demonetised. In 1985 the portrait of the Queen by Machin was replaced by the portrait sculpted by

Raphael Maklouf Raphael David Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a British sculptor, best known for designing an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II used on the coins of many Commonwealth nations. Maklouf was born in Jerusalem, to a Jewish family; his father was Sa ...

, used until 1992 and the launch of Hong Kong coins without the portrait of a reigning British Monarch.Hong Kong km55 10 Cents (1985–1992)
Retrieved 2023-01-28. The shape and size has been maintained at launch of the

bauhinia ''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and ...

series in 1993. In 1997, a commemorative coin was issued for the hand over of Hong Kong to China. It featured a traditional Chinese junk sailing boat.

Mintage

Mintmarks *H = Heaton *KN = King's Norton

References

{{HK currency and coinage Coins of Hong Kong Ten-cent coins Currencies of Hong Kong