Hong Kong companies stamped their company names on their stamps to stop theft.
Webb suggests perfins were allowed from 1890, however they were used before this date.

Webb has listed 34 Companies that issued Perfins.
This list has increased since that publication.
The HK Study Circle lists 66 different Companies that used perfins.
I have the front and back perfin image of each company listed below.
Still a few to go.

Information on Perfins can be found from the following references.

1. "The Philatelic and Postal History of Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports of China and Japan", by Col. Francis W. Webb

2. "Hong Kong Security Markings List" by Philippe Orsetti and Peter Pugh, listed in the Hong Kong Study Circle Journals.

3. "The Perfins of Hong Kong"  by  Harvey G. Tilles

4. "Hong Kong Security Markings"  by Ming W. Tsang

I wish to thank all of the above for their assistance in providing some of the information used in the following pages.

Dear Viewer.  Some of the pages below have a lot of photos.  If you have a slow modem it will time out and you will get a square with a red cross in the corner.  To open this image click the photo with the right button of your mouse, from the selection panel click the show picture option with the left button.  Enjoy.  Rod Sell.

The numbers underlined are those used by the Hong Kong Study Circle.
For more detail look in the links listed below.

Hong Kong Perfin Images Starting with A to B

1 AK / & Co - Arnhold Karberg & Co. Hong Kong

1a AK / & Co - Arnhold Karsberg & Co. Shanghai

2 A P C /H K - Asiatic Petroleum Company Hong Kong

2a A P C /H K - Asiatic Petroleum Company Swatow cancel

2b A P C /H K - Asiatic Petroleum Company Foochow cancel

2c A P C /H K - Asiatic Petroleum Company Amoy cancel.

3 A S W  & Co Ld  - A.S. Watson & Company

3a A S W  & Co Ld  - A.S. Watson & Company 
5mm letters, 75 holes, Foochow cancel

4 B.A.T. - British American Tobacco

4a B.A.T. Co. Ld. - British American Tobacco

5 B & Co.  - Bradley & Co.

6 B & Co. / Amoy - Boyd & Co. Amoy, Hong Kong cancel.

6a B & Co. / Amoy - Boyd & Co. Amoy,  Amoy cancel.

7 B & S - Butterfield & Swire (Hong Kong)

7a B & S - Butterfield & Swire 6mm letters, 37 holes, Shanghai cancel

8A  B C L - The Bank of Canton Limited

8B  BK.OF / COM. - Bank of Communications Limited

9  B.I. -  Banque de l'Indo-Chine

10 B M / & Co. - Behn Meyer & Co.

10a B. M /& Co. - Behn Meyer & Co.

11 B & S / H - Butterfield & Swire Hong Kong

11a B & S / H - Butterfield & Swire  Swatow

12 B & S / S - Butterfield & Swire cancelled Shanghai

12a B & S / S - Butterfield & Swire cancelled Hong Kong

13 B W & Co. - Burroughs Welcome & Co.

14 B.E.A. - Bank of East Asia

15 B T O - Bank of Taiwan

Hong Kong Perfin Images Starting with C to G

16 C &/ Co.  -  Carlowitz & Co.

17 C & C / H  - Carlowitz & Co. Hong Kong

17A  C . J / T / E . C - China & Japan, Telephone and Electric Co.?

18 C / BK / I - Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China

18A  Chase Bank

18B  C. / S.S. / B - The China & South Sea Bank Ltd. HK

18C  C.P.   Could be C.P.R.  Canadian Pacific Railways

19 D.A. / B.  - Deutsch-Asiatische Bank

20 D.A.T. / Co.Ld. - A variety of  B.A.T./ Co.Ld. with damaged pins.

20A D L / & Co -  Company yet not known, could be Douglas Lapraik & Co.

21a D.O.C. - Det Oversishe Compagnes

22 D. & / Co Ld - Dodwell & Co.

23 D &  Co / Ltd - Dodwell & Co.

24 D.C / & Co. - Dodwell, Carlill & Co.

25 E.S. & Co.  - Eduard Schellhass & Co. 

25a E.S. & Co.  - Eduard Schellhass & Co. Shanghai cancel.

26 F.B.& Co. - F Blackhead & Co.

27 G & Co.  Gilman & Company

Hong Kong Perfin Images Starting with H

28 H.D.P. -  Hong Kong Daily Press

29 H E / C - Hong Kong Electric Company

29a H E C - Hong Kong Electric Company

30 H & H - Hall & Holtz Co-Operative Company,Ltd.  Shanghai.

31 HS - H. Skott & Co.

31A  H K - Hong Kong Government

31B  H.K.L. / I.A.C. - Hong Kong Land & Investment Agency Company

32 H.K.E. - No image available yet.

32A  H.P / & / Co. LD  70 holes of 5.5mm

33's  Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank
This is a big field with lots more to be discovered.

33  N.S.B.-  The perfin punch deteriorated and the top and bottom perfin
     of the H broke resulting in an N.

33a H S B - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank  cancelled Shanghai

33a1 H S B - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank cancelled Hong Kong

33a2 H S B - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank cancelled Amoy

33c H&S/BC (59 holes) Swatow - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33c1 H&S/BC (60 holes) Foochow - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33d H&S/BC (59 holes) Amoy - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33e H&S/BC (59 holes) Hong Kong - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33f H&S / B.C (60 holes) Hong Kong - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33g H&S / B.C (57 holes) Hong Kong - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33h H&S/BC (61 holes) Shanghai cancel - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank  

33h1 H&S/BC (60 holes) Canton cancel - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33h2 H&S/BC (60 holes) Amoy cancel - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33i HS/BC (43 holes) Hong Kong/Shangai - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank 

33i1 HS/BC (43 holes) Hong Kong - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank
Different style B to 33i.

33j HS/BC (43 holes) Amoy - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

33l HS/BC (43 holes) KGV  Hong Kong/Shangai - HK & Shanghai Bank

33m H.S/B.C (45 holes) Canton - HK & Shanghai Bank

33o HS/BC (32 holes)  - HK & Shanghai Bank

33q H S B (39 Holes) Hankow - Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank

34 H. W & Co  -  Holliday Wise & Company

34a H. W & Co  -  Holliday Wise & Company Shanghai

34b H. W &. Co (1 dot after &)  -  Holliday Wise & Company Shanghai

34c H. W &. Co (2 dots after &)  -  Holliday Wise & Company Shanghai.

34d H. W & Co  -  Holliday Wise & Company

34e H. W &.. Co (2 dots after &)  -  Holliday Wise & Company

Hong Kong Perfin Images Starting with I to P

35 I B C  -  International Banking Corporation HK

36 J.T.S / H.K. -  Japanese Trading Society Hong Kong

36A  K.  - Hong Kong Government.

37 K & Co. - Kruse & Company

38 K&H/ C - No image available yet.

39 K & W -  Kelly & Walsh.

39a K & W -  Kelly & Walsh. Hong Kong cancel.

40 L C - Lane Crawford HK

41 L & Co. - W.R. Loxley & Co.

42 LS - L Soyka  No Images available yet.

43 M & C - Melchers (41 holes)
No images available yet.

43a M & C - Melchers Hong Kong cancel (50 holes)

43a1 M & C - Melchers (50 holes) Swatow cancel

43b M C -  Melchers, Hong Kong cancel.

43c M C -  Melchers,  Shanghai cancel.

44 M B K  - Mitsui  Busan Kaisha

45 M.B.I - Mercantile Bank of India

46 N.C.H - North China Herald

47 N A / S C - Nestle Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co.

48 N.C./B./N.Y. - National City Bank of New York

48A Nederlandsche Handelsmaatschappij ?

49 O.C.B.C. - Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Limited.

50 P & Co. - Could be R & Co. with pins missing?

51 P & O / B.C  -  Peninsular & Orient  Banking Corp.

51a P & O / B.C  -  Peninsular & Orient  Banking Corp.  flat top &

52 P C / A - Pasedag & Company  (Amoy)

Hong Kong Perfin Images Starting with R to Y

53 R & Co. -  Russell & Co. (Amoy)

53a R & Co. -  Russell & Co. (Hong Kong)

53A R & Co. (O inside C) - Reiss & Co. (Shanghai)

53B  R R / & CA.. Roxas Reyes & Company, Philippines.  56 holes,  5mm letters

54 S & Co. - Siemssen & Co.

55 S.B/& Co. - Believed to be Smith Bell & Co. 

55A  S.C.S.B. - The Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank, Ltd.

55B S D / & / E Co.   6mm letters, 60 holes,  Shanghai.

56 S H S - Shing Hwa Savings. (Shanghai)

57 S K - No image available yet.

58 S.W. & Co. - Sander Wieler & Co.

58A T  -  Hong Kong Government New Territories.

59  T C / & / S - Thomas Cook & Sons 3 line

59a T C / & S - Thomas Cook & Sons 2 lines. 7 Holes in C  HK Office

59b T C / & S - Thomas Cook & Sons 2 lines. 8 Holes in C  Shanghai Office

60 T/EC - Partial of  III-17A  C J / T / E C.

60A U I / S C - Union Insurance Society of Canton. No image yet.

61 U T / Co -  Union Trading Co.

61A  V & C - Vogel & Co., Canton

62 V / & Co- Vogel & Co., Canton

63 V. H / & Co - Vogel, Hagedorn & Co., H.K.;

64 W. & Co - W. A. Hannibal & Co.

65  W - Company not yet identified.

65A  W/KF - Company not yet identified.

66 Y S / B - Yokohama Specie bank

67  6 pointed star  12 holes.  Design made of 4 rows of 4 hole each 6mm in length.

Return to Security Markings & Perfins  Study Group Site