Hong Kong five hundred-dollar note facts for kids
| (Hong Kong) | |
|---|---|
| Value | 500 Hong Kong dollars |
| Width | 158 mm |
| Height | 79 mm |
| Security features | Window, Watermark, Security thread, Registration device, Latent image, Optically Variable Ink, Iridescent image |
| Paper type | Cotton |
| Years of printing | various years depending on bank |
The Hong Kong five hundred dollar note is a special piece of money used in Hong Kong. It's worth 500 Hong Kong dollars. This banknote has a long and interesting history. It was first created way back in the 1860s! Over the years, different banks have printed these notes, and their look has changed a few times.
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The Hong Kong 500 Dollar Note
The five hundred dollar note is one of the higher value banknotes in Hong Kong. It's often called a "$500 note" for short. Like all money, it helps people buy things and pay for services. These notes are printed on special cotton paper, which makes them durable and harder to copy.
A Look at Its History
The very first five hundred dollar notes appeared around the 1860s. Banks like the Oriental Bank Corporation and the Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) were among the first to print them. The The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation also started printing these notes in 1877.
Over time, other banks joined in. The Mercantile Bank started printing them in 1948. Much later, the Bank of China began issuing its own 500 dollar notes in 1994. Some very old notes, called "specimens," are known from banks like the Agra and Masterman's Bank and the Asiatic Banking Corporation from the 1860s. The National Bank of China also printed these notes in the 1890s.
These notes were printed continuously until the Second World War. After the war, they were printed again starting in 1946. The Mercantile Bank stopped printing the 500 dollar note after 1959.
How the Note Changed Over Time
Banknotes don't always stay the same size or color. For a long time, the Hong Kong 500 dollar notes were printed in different sizes and colors by different banks.
In 1979, something important happened: the size of the notes became more standard. The Chartered Bank made its 500 dollar notes the same size as those printed by HSBC. This made them easier to handle and recognize.
Then, in 2003, the color of all 500 dollar banknotes became uniform. They all adopted a brown color, making it easier for everyone to identify the 500 dollar note no matter which bank printed it.
Keeping Your Money Safe: Security Features
Modern banknotes have many special features to stop people from making fake copies. These are called security features. The Hong Kong 500 dollar note has several of these:
- Window: This is a clear part of the note that you can see through.
- Watermark: If you hold the note up to the light, you can see a faint image, like a picture or a number, that is part of the paper itself.
- Security thread: A thin thread is built into the paper. Sometimes it's visible, sometimes it's hidden and only seen when held to light.
- Registration device: This is a design that looks incomplete on one side of the note. When you hold it up to the light, the missing parts from the other side line up perfectly to form a complete image.
- Latent image: This is an image or number that you can only see when you tilt the note at a certain angle.
- Optically Variable Ink: This special ink changes color when you tilt the note.
- Iridescent image: This is a shiny, shimmery image that changes appearance when you move the note.
These features help ensure that the money you use is real and safe.
