香港是最先把中文貨幣單位定為「員」(與「圓」和「元」通用)的地方。一八四六年，東藩匯理銀行發行港元鈔票，持有人可隨時憑票兌換銀元，成為香港最早紙 幣。一八六三年，港府從英國運送輔幣來港，翌年開始在市面流通，成為香港首批硬幣。上述的紙幣和硬幣出現，標誌香港貨幣的誕生，兩者更曾在本地印鑄。一八 六六至一八六八年港府曾成立香港鑄錢局，一度在港自鑄硬幣，但只維持了兩年；一九八四年德拉魯公司在港設立印鈔分廠，包攬印製香港紙幣，至一九九六年被港 府收購，改名為香港印鈔有限公司。
「香港貨幣」展覽覽包羅不同類型的文物，除了展示不同年代的香港硬幣和紙幣外，亦包括試鑄的樣幣、硬幣鑄模、紀念金幣的石膏模型、紙幣的設計圖、版票、印鈔用的鋼 版，以及未經切割的連張鈔票等等。展出的文物超過七百件，輔以精彩的歷史圖片和錄像，道出香港各種貨幣出現的時代背景，以及貨幣的購買力轉變，與港人的日常生活息息相關。
本圖錄是香港歷史博物館為配合「香港貨幣」展覽而編製，細說香港貨幣從十九世紀中葉至今的發展，內容涵蓋早期的硬幣和紙幣，以至今天流通的洋紫荊硬幣和二零一零年系列新鈔票。香港貨幣是民生變遷的見證，與本地衣食住行各方面皆息息相關，輔以詳盡的文字介紹和珍貴的歷史照片，讓您深入瞭解香港貨幣的演變過程。
Hong Kong was first to establish the "yuan" (dollar) as the unit of currency. In 1846, the Oriental Bank Corporation issued Hong Kong's first banknotes and bearers of the notes could exchange them for silver dollars. In 1863, the Hong Kong Government imported coins from Britain. They went into circulation in the following year and became Hong Kong's first coins. The emergence of the above-mentioned notes and coinage marked the birth of Hong Kong's currency, and both types of currency were produced locally. Between 1866 and 1868, the Hong Kong Government had set up the Hong Kong Mint. Coins were minted in Hong Kong at one time, but only for a period of two years. In 1984, the De La Rue Company Limited set up a note printing factory in Hong Kong, undertaking printing work of all of Hong Kong's paper money. The factory was acquired by the Hong Kong Government in 1996 and renamed Hong Kong Note Printing Limited.
The "Hong Kong Currency" exhibition showcased a wide range of exhibits, including Hong Kong coinage and notes from different time periods, trial coins, tools for minting circulated coins, plaster models of commemorative coins, design drawings of banknotes, trial notes, plates for printing banknotes, uncut sheets of banknotes and more. Over 700 artefacts, along with fascinating historical images and videos, present visitors with pictures of the eras in which different types of currency emerged in Hong Kong. The exhibits, intricately related to Hong Kong people's everyday lives, showed how the purchasing power of currencies have changed over the years.
In conjunction with the "Hong Kong Currency" exhibition, the Hong Kong Museum of History produced this catalogue to illustrate the development of Hong Kong's coinage and paper money from the mid-19th century to the present. Included in this catalogue are images of early coinage and notes, as well as the bauhinia coins and the 2010 banknote series in circulation in Hong Kong today. Our currency bears silent witness to the changes that have taken place in people's livelihoods over the century. Supplemented with detailed descriptions and invaluable historical photographs, this catalogue will let you understand the evolution of our currency in depth.
