Hong Kong: Elizabeth II and the Return to China

[Ice Torch]

Hong Kong's coins of this period are a curious assortment. They use
three different effigies of the Queen, but they only updated the
effigy on a coin when that coin was redesigned, or reduced in size, or
had its shape changed. This means that a year series may have two or
more different portraits of the Queen.

Until the 1980s, the denominations on the coins were in English words
and Chinese characters. Then European numerals (Arabic in origin, of
course) were added to two of the coins, but no others. This halfway
house persisted until 1993, when the Queen's effigy was removed and
replaced with a bauhinia flower. Hong Kong was still a British colony
until 1997, though. Their coin series went out with a bang in 1997: a
special commemorative set carried a lively Chinese theme on each coin
of the series. Click on the link below to have a look:

http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,9872.0.html

Phil.