The light-blue George VI Government $1 is Pick 316. Collectors nickname it the “Blue Emperor” (藍皇) for the cool blue face that replaced the earlier purple type. Layout, size and printer stay in the Bradbury Wilkinson government series — portrait of George VI at right, bilingual government titles, no date on the note. It is the middle colour step between purple 紫皇 and green 綠皇.
Hong Kong collectors often treat Government one-dollar notes as a five-nickname set: 鬍鬚佬 (George V), 紫皇 / 藍皇 / 綠皇 (George VI by colour), and 英女皇 (Elizabeth II). 藍皇 is often the type where catalogue dating and local oral history diverge most clearly.
1940–1941 or 1945?
Dating is contested. The Standard Catalog and many slab labels use ND (1940–1941). Hong Kong museum texts and local catalogues often describe a postwar light-blue reissue around 1945 after the Japanese occupation ended (the “Liberation” / 重光 period). Both conventions appear in the trade.
Design and production
About 126 × 79 mm, printed by Bradbury Wilkinson for the Government of Hong Kong. Compared with 紫皇, the change collectors watch for is colour: washed-out photos can make blue and purple hard to tell apart, so check the note in daylight before you buy. Compared with 綠皇, look for the absence of a printed calendar date and the cooler blue (not leaf-green) ink.
Emergency small-change notes of 1941 (overprinted Chinese Bank of China $5 stock and related 1 / 5 / 10 cent issues) are a separate story from this portrait $1. Do not mix those wartime expedients with the Bradbury Wilkinson 藍皇 when building a nickname set.
Collectors use nicknames like “Blue Emperor” (藍皇) based on the portrait and face colour.
Collecting notes
- Standard name: 1940–1941 ND Hong Kong Government $1 “Blue Emperor” (藍皇), Pick 316.
- Do not confuse with green 綠皇 (Pick 324), which adds printed issue dates from 1949.
- Mention both catalogue ND (1940–1941) and the local 1945 postwar reading when discussing scarcity or history.
- Daylight colour checks beat relying on auction-thumbnail white balance.