A short history of the five cent coin

The following guest post was written by Ben Huang.

Introduction

The five cent coin, also known as the dao ling (斗令), is an integral part of Hong Kong’s history, and was in use from as early as 1866 right up to 1980.

Different materials from silver to nickel to nickel-brass have been used for the coin which has seen all the monarchs from Queen Victoria through to Elizabeth II. Throughout this time the design of the coin has largely remained unchanged - the sovereign’s effigy is on the front of the coin and the legend ‘Hong Kong Five Cent’ in Chinese and English on the reverse. Small in size and handy to use, its longevity as well ubiquity meant that it played a big part in everyday life in Hong Kong, earning it the affectionate moniker the 'dao ling'.

A silver start

In Jan Morris’s book ‘Hong Kong’ [1], she provides a description of the colony in the 1880s, which forty years after its foundation and with the British Empire approaching the height of its power, had found its own exotic place as the easternmost of all Her Majesty’s dominions and become in British eyes The Pearl of the Orient.

In the 1880s the colony was booming – ‘we have passed through our bad times’, Jardine’s taipan told Kipling, ‘and come to the fat years’.  Morris describes the place as the Compleat Colony as many of the instruments of modern life had been established - a Chamber of Commerce, the Post Office, as well as four issuing banks.

The Hong Kong Mint [2] had in fact already been set up in 1866. The first Hong Kong five cent was issued there as a silver coin of 80% fineness. However the poor reception of the coins as well as continued debasement of silver caused huge losses to the Mint which was closed less than two years later in 1868.

Subsequently it was Heaton’s Mint in Birmingham that continued to mint the 80% silver Hong Kong five cent and many of the coins carry the letter H as a mintmark.

This carried on through the reign of Edward VII (1901 to 1910) and George V (1910 to 1936) although 1933 was to be the last year the five cent was minted in 80% silver.

The switch to nickel

During George VI’s reign (1936 to 1952) the metal for the coin was changed to 100% nickel.

The 1941 issue is particularly rare – it was dispatched from the UK to Hong Kong in several shipments: one fell into Japanese hands, another was melted down by the British and a third was sunk during enemy action.

The final five cent coin, in nickel-brass

In Queen Elizabeth II’s reign the material for the coin was changed to a nickel-brass alloy.

It makes an appearance in the endearing 1966 pop song, ‘Kowloon Hong Kong’ by The Reynettes [3]:

Gong Hei, Gong Hei Fat Choi, Lai See Dao Loi, Dao Ling Mm Oi!

Congratulations and be prosperous, now give me a red envelope, but not with just a five cent inside!

By the 1960s and 70s the face value of the five cent coin had steadily declined to the extent that it was fast becoming redundant. In 1980 the coin ceased to be used as currency and was officially demonetized although there was a limited mint of non-circulating five cents in the auspicious year of 1988 which became a collector’s item.

Patinova is a company that specialises in making jewellery with cultural themes. One of its ranges is the cufflink made with the old Hong Kong five cent coin. It is a cufflink that carries a lot of history and many layers of meaning but it is small in size and remains a perfectly subtle and understated piece of jewellery.  They can be seen at www.patinova.com

References:

1. Hong Kong: Epilogue to an Empire, by Jan Morris
2. Location & picture of the Hong Kong Mint and its dam
3. The Reynettes sing 'Kowloon Hong Kong':