Hong Kong one-mil coin facts for kids
| Hong Kong | |
| Value | 0.001 HKD |
|---|---|
| Mass | 0.98 g |
| Diameter | 15 mm |
| Thickness | 0.80 mm |
| Edge | plain |
| Composition | Bronze |
| Years of minting | 1863 –1866 |
| Catalog number | - |
| Obverse | |
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| Design | Hong Kong one mil |
| Designer | William Robinson |
| Design date | 1861 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | Chinese characters for Hong Kong and denomination |
| Designer | William Robinson |
| Design date | 1861 |
The one mil coin was the smallest coin ever used in Hong Kong. It was part of the Hong Kong dollar system. This tiny coin was made from 1863 to 1866. Its value was very small, just one-thousandth of a dollar. That's like a tenth of a cent! The coin was made by the Royal Mint in Britain. It had the initials "VR" for Queen Victoria, who was the queen at that time. Unlike other coins, it didn't show her face because it had a hole in the middle.
Contents
What the Coin Looked Like
The one mil coin had two main sides. One side showed information in English. The other side had Chinese writing.
The English Side
This side of the coin showed its value and the country name in English. It also had a British crown. You could see the letters 'VR' on it. These letters stand for Victoria Regina, which is Latin for Queen Victoria. This coin is special because it's the only British Hong Kong coin that used Latin words. Other coins from that time used English words for the queen's titles.
The Chinese Side
The other side of the coin had its value and the country name written in Chinese. When the coin was first made (1863-1866), the Chinese characters meant "Hong Kong One-wen" (香港一文). This was similar to the old Chinese "cash" coins. The 1866 "One-wen" coin is very rare today! Later in 1866, the Chinese writing changed. It became "Hong Kong One-thousand" (香港一千). This showed that its value was one-thousandth of a dollar.
How Many Were Made
Millions of one mil coins were made, but some years are much rarer than others.
Hong Kong One-wen Coins
- 1863: About 19,000,000 coins were made.
- 1864: We don't know how many were made this year.
- 1865: About 40,000,000 coins were made. There were two types: one with a hyphen between "HONG" and "KONG" and one without.
- 1866: We don't know how many were made. This is one of the rarest Hong Kong coins! One of these rare coins is kept at the Melbourne Museum.
Hong Kong One-thousand Coins
- 1866: About 20,000,000 coins were made with the new Chinese writing.
See also
- Cash (Chinese coin)
Images for kids
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Hong Kong one-mil coin (1866) with Chinese characters “香港一千”
 | Madam C. J. Walker |
 | Janet Emerson Bashen |
 | Annie Turnbo Malone |
 | Maggie L. Walker |
