(t) HONG KONG. Hong Kong Hotel Copper Token, ND (ca. 1884). Heaton Mint. PCGS EF-45.

A dark brown example of an interesting token. A garter around the crown with "HONG KONG HOTEL" in a belt in the legend on the obverse. On the reverse, "HONG KONG HOTEL" around the edges and "ONE DRINK" in the center. According to Numista, "There was a severe shortage of coinage in Hong Kong throughout the early-to-mid 20th Century. As such, many companies resorted to minting their own tokens in order to assist customers in buying goods and services. This token allowed a customer of the hotel to purchase a drink from the hotel bar. The coin is written in English only, as it is meant to be used by foreign visitors and expatriates, not local Chinese." The Hong Kong Hotel was the first luxury hotels modeled after London Hotels. It opened in 1868 and would later become part of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, who currently owns the popular "The Peninsula Hotels" chain.

Estimate: $100.00 - $200.00

1884年香港酒店銅代用幣。喜敦造幣廠。

有趣的深褐色代幣。正面為吊襪帶環繞皇冠，有文"HONG KONG HOTEL"。反面還邊文字為"HONG KONG HOTEL"，中央為"ONE DRINK"。 根據 Numista 網站所載，"20世紀早至中期的香港急缺硬幣。因此，衆多公司透過鑄造專屬代幣以顧客購買商品或服務。顧客可凴此枚代幣在該酒店的酒吧購買飲料一杯。因此幣的使用對象設定為外國旅客或僑民，而非本地人，因此文字僅有英文" 香港大酒店是香港第一間五星級酒店，以倫敦酒店為原型建築，於 1868 年開業，其後被香港香港上海大酒店有限公司收購，該公司現擁有著名的半島酒店。