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500 Dollars HSBC
| Issuer | The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003-2009 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The left portion of the obverse is dominated by a large intaglio vignette of Stephen, the bronze lion guardian statue installed at the HSBC main building in Hong Kong, rendered in fine engraved detail against a warm yellow-ochre guilloche underprint. A red-brown horizontal band across the upper register carries the bank's full name in English and Chinese characters, flanked by large multicolour numeral '500' at the upper left and a second '500' at the upper right. The right half of the note displays the promise-to-pay text in English and Chinese, the denomination in both scripts, an executive director's signature with date, and the HSBC hexagonal logo alongside traditional Chinese decorative scroll motifs. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents an aerial panoramic vignette of Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, with the airport's runways and terminal structures rendered in detailed intaglio engraving on a red-brown ground, mountains visible in the background across the bay. In the lower foreground, the cylindrical air traffic control tower appears at lower left alongside a colourful tricolour spiral ornamental motif, while the curved roof structure of the passenger terminal occupies the lower centre and right. A departing aircraft is visible at upper right, and the denomination numeral '500' appears in an oval at the lower right corner. |
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| Comments |
HSBC's high-denomination series of this period was produced during a window when Hong Kong's three note-issuing banks were under pressure to harmonize security standards following a series of counterfeiting incidents in the late 1990s that had targeted large-denomination notes across the region. The $500 was a particular target — high enough in face value to make forgery worthwhile, common enough in commercial transactions to pass without close scrutiny.
P#210 spans a seven-year print run, meaning date collectors will find meaningful variety across the series. Later issues incorporated incremental security upgrades without a formal redesign, so the note's external appearance changed little while the substrate and thread specification quietly shifted.