50 Dollars 2009, Hong Kong
| in Krause book | Number: 208f |
| Years of issue: | 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 - present |
| Edition: | 20 725 599 |
| Signatures: | Executive director: Peter Wong |
| Serie: | No Serie |
| Specimen of: | 01.01.2009 |
| Material: | Unknown material |
| Size (mm): | 148 x 74 |
| 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 50.
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:
The head of HSBC lion 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 in top corners and in words centrally.
Revers:
Po Lin Monastery is a Buddhist monastery, located on Ngong Ping Plateau, on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
The monastery was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu and was initially known simply as "The Big Hut" (Tai Mao Pung). It was renamed to its present name in 1924. The main temple houses three bronze statues of the Buddha - representing his past, present and future lives - as well as many Buddhist scriptures.
Tian Tan Buddha, a giant Buddha statue completed in 1993, is an extension of the monastery.
The Ngong Ping 360, consisting of the Ngong Ping village and a gondola lift running between Tung Chung and Ngong Ping, was built near to the Po Lin Monastery.The monastery has boasting many prominent architectural structures, such as the Main Shrine Hall of Buddha, the Hall of Bodhisattva Skanda.
This monastery is also famous for making wooden bracelets that are only sold near the Tian Tan Buddha statue.
Comments:
Special Administrative Region of China since 1997
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