Entering the twentieth century, the design of Hong Kong’s definitive stamps remained unchanged except for the portrait of the British sovereign that appeared on them. After Queen Victoria passed away in 1901, Hong Kong stamps started featuring the head of her successor, King Edward VII, in 1903. In these new stamps, the king’s head appeared in a solid oval surmounted by a crown, making it all more prominent.

King Edward VII died in 1910 and was succeeded by King George V. Again, the design of the definitive stamps remained virtually the same, except that the denominations were now represented by Arabic numerals under the rules of the Universal Postal Union. The Chinese characters sin si were also replaced by sin, although the meaning is the same. During these reigns, the lowest denomination of Hong Kong’s stamps was reduced from 2 cents to 1 cent, while the highest denomination saw a dramatic increase from 96 cents to $10.