I have received two commentaries about Hong Kong coinage from a very advance collector, Mr. R. K. of Canada. I appreciate very much. If you want to share your knowledge and enthusism in numismatics, feel free to contact me please.

I have placed below one of the commentaries which is self-explained. Thanks indeed to Mr. R. K.

On Sun, 01 Feb 1998, Mr. R. K. wrote:

I would like to commend you for setting up such an interesting web site. My particular interests are in Hong Kong coinage which I consider to be among the most beautiful and historically interesting of the British Commonwealth countries. For unknown reasons, it is not as widely collected as the coinage of early China.
I would like to comment on two matters contained in your site: the silver issues of 1876; and, the error coinage.
R. Hamson's comments that error coins are of no real numismatic value are also erroneous. Error collecting is a growing and popular aspect of numismatics in the United States of America. Although the majority of error collectors collect errors based on aesthetics, others collect for the information that can be obtained from errors on the manufacturing process, specifically for the older coinage where such information is not available in mint reports or related documentation. Such information is a vital clue to characteristics of coinage from year to year and from denomination to denomination.
Error coins are divided into three broad categories: planchet, die and striking errors. The "true varieties" that Hamson refers to are die errors and mis-strikes are striking errors. Values, on the otherhand, generally depend on eye appeal and condition.
Your undated 10 c. error is a result of foreign matter (usually mint machinery grease and oil) on the dies. The foreign matter eventually clears off the dies after repeated strikes and the resultant coins are normal. This is a commonly encountered error in U.S. 1 c. production and values range from $2 to $5 U.S.. The difference in weight of your coin has nothing to do with the error.
Your 1959 10c. is about 8% off-center in the 9:00 o'clock position (using the reverse for reference). Some error collectors may refer to the coin as being an uncentered broadstrike, but this would be erroneous since the rim design is part of the die and it is missing on your coin. The type of information that can be obtained from your coin, for example, is that it was struck with the reverse die in the top position. Again, from a value standpoint, this is not an expensive error in U.S. coinage. Foreign errors are less frequently seen in the U.S.A., but do not command high premiums because there are so few collectors who seek foreign errors.

R. K.
Canada