Emergency subsidiary notes were arranged by the Hong Kong Planning Unit before and around the end of the war to counter the post-liberation coin shortage. Replacement coins did not arrive in Hong Kong until February 1949, leaving paper ten cents with a clear everyday role.
The largest postwar value
Catalogued as P-323 and ND (1945), this red note measures about 103 × 52 mm. George VI dominates the unnumbered face, while the ten-cent denomination is set out clearly for rapid use in small transactions.
P-323 is wider than the 1941 ten-cent P-315, yet its printing is simpler: only the face is printed and there is no individual serial. The shared red denomination colour links the two issues visually, while portrait, numbering and reverse treatment separate them.
Reading a uniface note
The catalogue attribution depends on the George VI portrait, ten-cent legends, red colour and dimensions rather than a serial prefix. The lack of numbering was standard for this emergency portrait series and should not be mistaken for an omission.
The reverse is intentionally blank. Show-through from the strong red face, natural paper marks or scanning shadows may be visible, but none forms a printed back design; the contrast with P-315's blue reverse is immediate.
Collector's perspective
At 103 mm wide, P-323 often acquires several vertical folds, corner bends and tears along its long edges. Strong red ink can make washed or abraded areas conspicuous around the portrait; inspect the blank back for reinforcement, hinge traces and thinning that the face may conceal.
Margin balance matters on this elongated format because trimming can noticeably alter the proportions. Record the clarity of the denomination and portrait, but also distinguish ordinary face-to-back show-through from true offset ink or later staining.
From emergency paper back to coin
P-323 served from 1945 to about 1949, when renewed coin deliveries removed the immediate need for paper ten cents. The denomination briefly reappeared with Elizabeth II on P-327 in the 1961–1965 period, but did not continue after 1965 as coin supply normalised.