HONG KONG (SAR). Hong Kong Hotel Copper Token, ND (ca. 1884). Birmingham (Heaton) Mint. PCGS MS-63 Brown.
Obverse: Garter around the crown with "HONG KONG HOTEL" in a belt in the legend; Reverse: "HONG KONG HOTEL" around the edges and "ONE DRINK" in the center. This crisp, Choice example of the issue features glossy dark brown surfaces. A charming and intriguing token. 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 hotel modeled after London Hotels. It opened in 1868 and would later become part of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, which currently owns the popular "The Peninsula Hotels" chain.

1884年香港酒店銅代幣。伯明罕（喜敦）鑄幣廠。
正面：吊襪帶環繞著皇冠，綬帶上印有"HONG KONG HOTEL"（香港酒店）字樣；背面：幣緣"HONG KONG HOTEL"（香港酒店）字樣圍繞，中央印有"ONE DRINK"（一杯酒水）字樣。此枚代幣品相精選，光滑深棕色包漿，迷人而有趣。 根據 Numista 的說法，"20 世紀初至中期，香港硬幣嚴重短缺。因此許多公司開始鑄造自己的代幣，以方便顧客購買商品和服務。持有此代幣的顧客可以在酒店酒吧購買一杯酒水。因為目標客戶是外國遊客和外籍人士，而非本地華人，因此代幣上只有英文。" 香港酒店是第一家仿照倫敦酒店建造的豪華酒店。開業於 1868 年，後來成為香港上海酒店有限公司的一部分，該公司目前擁有名的"半島酒店"連鎖酒店。

Estimate: $500.00 - $1000.00