In November 1935 Hong Kong abandoned the silver standard alongside mainland China. Foreign silver dollars were withdrawn from legal circulation, and the Government of Hong Kong took over the one-dollar note from The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). Until then HSBC had been the sole local issuer of the $1 denomination (from 1872). The first government issue — catalogued Pick 311, ND (1935) — shows King George V at right on a purple-brown face. Collectors call it the “Whiskered Man” (鬍鬚佬) for the king’s full beard.
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). The Whiskered Man is the only George V type in that run and therefore the natural starting point for set builders.
A short-lived first issue
George V died in January 1936, only months after the note entered circulation. The Government soon replaced the portrait with King George VI while keeping the same Bradbury Wilkinson frame. That rapid change left the Whiskered Man with a very short official life — one reason high-grade survivors are harder to assemble than later green types, and why Pick 311 remains a key note in any Government $1 type set.
Because the note carries no printed calendar date, dealers and slab labels rely on catalogue attribution: ND (1935) / Pick 311.
Design and production
Notes were printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co. in New Malden for the Government of Hong Kong, in a compact format of about 126 × 79 mm. The face is purple-brown with bilingual issuer titles; the reverse carries value panels and government legends. This layout became the template for every later Government $1 portrait and colour change through 1959.
Security features of the era are modest by modern standards: watermark and intricate intaglio-style line work rather than polymer windows or holographic strips. Collectors therefore grade more on paper originality, corner integrity, and whether the purple-brown inks remain even — not on machine-readable devices.
Collectors use nicknames like “Whiskered Man” (鬍鬚佬) based on the portrait and face colour.
Collecting notes
- Standard name: 1935 ND Hong Kong Government $1 “Whiskered Man” (鬍鬚佬), Pick 311.
- Confirm George V (beard), not the later George VI purple “紫皇”.
- Expect fewer choice uncirculated pieces than 綠皇 or 英女皇; a solid VF–EF example is already meaningful for many type sets.
- Pair it with Pick 312–324A nicknames to complete the classic five-type Government $1 story from 1935 to 1959.