A complete set of 1912 specimen notes from The Mercantile Bank of India (Bombay) will be offered by Spink's office in Hong Kong. The Banknotes, Bonds & Share Certificates and Coins of China and Hong Kong sale will be on the 16th of January 2016.
The Mercantile Bank of Bombay was founded in 1853 to focus on business in Asia. It was later granted a royal charter in 1857 and renamed as the Mercantile Bank of India, London and China in the same year. The bank went on to expand the business into Shanghai, Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States, later becoming an issuer of Hong Kong's banknotes from 1859 to 1892.
The Bank issued the pictorial series from 1912 in denominations of $5 (lot 2, estimated HK$40,000 - 50,000), $10 (lot 3, estimated: HK$40,000 - 50,000), $25 (lot 4, estimated: HK$200,000 - 240,000), $50 (lot 5, estimated: HK$80,000 -100,000) and $100 (lot 6, estimated: HK$60,000 - 80,000). The $5 and $10 were printed until 1941 but the $25 was only a one year issue (1912), the $50 until 1930 and the $100 until 1960.
The most commonly encountered notes are the 1941 $5, $10 and the 1950's $100. All the denominations and dates are very rare, but the $25 is an iconic Hong Kong note and the issued note has not been seen in a public auction for many years. A colour trial was offered in our August 2015 Singapore sale and fetched a staggering hammer price of S$52,000. This set is in near pristine condition and probably the only time a complete set has been offered together in one single auction.
You can contact Spink Hong Kong office on 111 Queens' Road West in Sheung Wan to book an appointment for viewing the auction lots or to bring your collectables for a free valuation. For more information, please contact: Tel: +852 3952 3000 or email: china@spink.com.
