20 Dollars 2009, Hong Kong
| in Krause book | Number: 207f |
| Years of issue: | 01.01.2009 |
| Edition: | 62 667 870 |
| Signatures: | Executive director: Peter Wong |
| Serie: | No Serie |
| Specimen of: | 2003 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 144 x 72 |
| Printer: | Hong Kong Note Printing Limited, Hong Kong |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
HSBC Main Building and denomination 20.
HSBC Main Building is a headquarters building of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which is today a wholly owned subsidiary of London based HSBC Holdings. It is located along the southern side of Statue Square near the location of the old City Hall, Hong Kong (built in 1869, demolished in 1933). The previous HSBC building was built in 1935 and pulled down to make way for the current building. The address remains as 1 Queen's Road Central. The early British settlers in Hong Kong had an interest in Feng Shui; thus, most of the earliest buildings in Hong Kong, and many buildings constructed thereafter, were built with the philosophies of Feng Shui in mind. The Chinese believe that those who have a direct view of a body of water-whether it is a river, a sea, or an ocean-are more likely to prosper than those who do not (water is strongly associated with wealth in Feng Shui). The HSBC building has a wide open area (the Statue Square) in front of it, with no other buildings blocking its view of Victoria Harbour; thus, it is considered to have "good feng shui".
Avers:
One of HSBC lions is on the left side.
Various headquarters and branch buildings of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and the HSBC Group, into which the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation has evolved, feature a pair of lion sculptures.
Cast by J W Singer & Sons in the English town of Frome, to a design by Henry Poole RA, these lions had quickly become part of the Shanghai scene, and passers-by would affectionately stroke the lions in the belief that power and money would rub off on them. They became known as Stephen and Stitt: an in-joke. Stephen was named for A G Stephen, formerly Manager Shanghai, and in 1923 the Chief Manager of HSBC, and G H Stitt, the then Manager Shanghai. Stephen is depicted roaring, Stitt quiescent, and again insiders said that this represented the characters of these two famous bankers.
They are seen as one of the key symbols of HSBC, so much so that HSBC is locally known in Hong Kong as "the Lion Bank".
Denominations in numerals are in top corners and in words centered.
Revers:
The Peak Tower is a leisure and shopping complex located at Victoria Gap, near the summit of Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It also houses the upper terminal of the Peak Tram. Both the Peak Tower and the Peak Tram are owned by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels group, the owner of Hong Kong's famous Peninsula Hotel along with many other properties. The tower and tram are jointly promoted by the collective branding known as The Peak.
The Peak Tower is located at an elevation of 396 m., 156 m. below the summit of Victoria Peak. Because the architects sought a design which would be prominent on the skyline but would not interrupt the natural line of the hills, they chose a site in a dip along the line of the hills, and restricted the tower's height to 428 m above sea level.
Bouquet of flowers Bauhinia is centered, on the left side.
Bauhinia - The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers, Swiss-French botanists.
Many species are widely planted in the tropics as orchid trees, particularly in northern India, Vietnam and southeastern China. Other common names include Mountain Ebony and Kachnar (India and Pakistan). In the United States of America, the trees grow in Hawaii, coastal California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Bauhinia blakeana is the floral emblem of Hong Kong - a stylized orchid tree flower appears on the Hong Kong flag and Hong Kong Airlines uses "Bauhinia" as its radio callsign in air traffic communication.
Denominations are in top left and lower right corners.
Comments:
Special Administrative Region of China since 1997.
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