The Standard Chartered Bank is one of four banknote-issuing bodies in Hong Kong. Banknotes from Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) include Hong Kong dollar denominations of $20, $50, $100, $500, and $1000 — as do the three other banks that issue HK paper money, HSBC and Bank of China.
SCB issued its first Hong Kong dollar banknotes in the 1860s, under the name Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China. Throughout the 1800s and 1900s, this British bank issued Hong Kong notes in other denominations as well, such as $5 and $10. In 1969, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China became Standard Chartered.
As far as Hong Kong banknote collectors are concerned, the first several issues (the earliest, of the 1800s) from SCB are vanishingly rare, and are generally not seen for sale — or if they are, can cost well into five figures. However, subsequent and more recent notes can be found, and though some are pricey, even collectors with more modest means can find some nice SCB notes for sale by keeping an eye on the current sales listings.
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The current series of Standard Chartered Bank banknotes is the 2010 series, which includes the standardized colors belonging to the $20 through $1000 notes that all banknotes use in Hong Kong.
